MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Osteoporos Int. 2019 May;30(5):1003-1013. doi: 10.1007/s00198-019-04855-5. Epub 2019 Jan 21.
We explored the association between gut microbiota composition and bone mineral loss in Chinese elderly people by high-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. Compared with controls, a smaller number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), several taxa with altered abundance, and specific functional pathways were found in individuals with low-bone mineral density (BMD).
Gut microbiota plays important roles in human health and associates with a number of diseases. However, few studies explored its association with bone mineral loss in human.
We collected 102 fecal samples from each eligible individual belonging to low-BMD and control groups for high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
The low-BMD individuals had a smaller number of OTUs and bacterial taxa at each level. At the phylum level, Bacteroidetes were more abundant in the low-BMD group; Firmicutes were enriched in the control group; Firmicutes and Actinobacteria positively correlated and Bacteroidetes negatively correlated with the BMD and T-score in all subjects. At the family level, the abundance of Lachnospiraceae in low-BMD individuals reduced and positively correlated with BMD and T-score; meanwhile, BMD increased with increasing Bifidobacteriaceae. At the genus level, low-BMD individuals had decreased proportions of Roseburia compared with control ones (P < 0.05). Roseburia, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus positively correlated with BMD and T-score. Furthermore, BMD increased with rising abundance of Bifidobacterium. Functional prediction revealed that 93 metabolic pathways significantly differed between the two groups (FDR-corrected P < 0.05). Most pathways, especially pathways related to LPS biosynthesis, were more abundant in low-BMD individuals than in control ones.
Several taxa with altered abundance and specific functional pathways were discovered in low-BMD individuals. Our findings provide novel epidemiologic evidence to elucidate the underlying microbiota-relevant mechanism in bone mineral loss and osteoporosis.
通过高通量 16S 核糖体 RNA(rRNA) 基因测序，探讨中国老年人肠道微生物群落组成与骨矿物质丢失的关系。与对照组相比，低骨密度（BMD）个体的操作分类单元（OTUs）数量较少，一些丰度改变的分类群和特定的功能途径。
肠道微生物在人类健康中发挥着重要作用，并与许多疾病有关。然而，很少有研究探索其与人类骨矿物质丢失的关系。
我们从属于低 BMD 和对照组的每个合格个体中收集了 102 个粪便样本，用于高通量 16S rRNA 基因测序。
低 BMD 个体在每个水平的 OTUs 和细菌分类群数量较少。在门水平上，拟杆菌门在低 BMD 组中更为丰富；厚壁菌门在对照组中富集；厚壁菌门和放线菌与所有受试者的 BMD 和 T 评分呈正相关，而拟杆菌门与 BMD 和 T 评分呈负相关。在科水平上，低 BMD 个体中lachnospiraceae 的丰度降低，与 BMD 和 T 评分呈正相关；同时，BMD 随着双歧杆菌科的增加而增加。在属水平上，与对照组相比，低 BMD 个体的罗斯伯里亚属比例降低（P<0.05）。罗斯伯里亚属、双歧杆菌属和乳杆菌属与 BMD 和 T 评分呈正相关。此外，BMD 随着双歧杆菌属丰度的增加而增加。功能预测显示，两组之间有 93 条代谢途径存在显著差异（经 FDR 校正的 P<0.05）。大多数途径，特别是与 LPS 生物合成相关的途径，在低 BMD 个体中比在对照组中更为丰富。
在低 BMD 个体中发现了一些丰度改变的分类群和特定的功能途径。我们的发现提供了新的流行病学证据，阐明了骨矿物质丢失和骨质疏松症中潜在的与微生物相关的机制。
