Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
mSphere. 2020 Oct 21;5(5):e00314-20. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00314-20.
Accumulating evidence has strengthened a link between dysbiotic gut microbiota and autism. Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a promising therapy to repair dysbiotic gut microbiota. We previously performed intensive FMT called microbiota transfer therapy (MTT) for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and observed a substantial improvement of gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms. We also reported modulation of the gut microbiome toward a healthy one. In this study, we report comprehensive metabolite profiles from plasma and fecal samples of the children who participated in the MTT trial. With 619 plasma metabolites detected, we found that the autism group had distinctive metabolic profiles at baseline. Eight metabolites (nicotinamide riboside, IMP, iminodiacetate, methylsuccinate, galactonate, valylglycine, sarcosine, and leucylglycine) were significantly lower in the ASD group at baseline, while caprylate and heptanoate were significantly higher in the ASD group. MTT drove global shifts in plasma profiles across various metabolic features, including nicotinate/nicotinamide and purine metabolism. In contrast, for 669 fecal metabolites detected, when correcting for multiple hypotheses, no metabolite was significantly different at baseline. Although not statistically significant, -cresol sulfate was relatively higher in the ASD group at baseline, and after MTT, the levels decreased and were similar to levels in typically developing (TD) controls. -Cresol sulfate levels were inversely correlated with , suggesting a potential role of on -cresol sulfate modulation. Further studies of metabolites in a larger ASD cohort, before and after MTT, are warranted, as well as clinical trials of other therapies to address the metabolic changes which MTT was not able to correct. Despite the prevalence of autism and its extensive impact on our society, no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment is available for this complex neurobiological disorder. Based on mounting evidences that support a link between autism and the gut microbiome, we previously performed a pioneering open-label clinical trial using intensive fecal microbiota transplant. The therapy significantly improved gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms. Comprehensive metabolomic measurements in this study showed that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had different levels of many plasma metabolites at baseline compared to those in typically developing children. Microbiota transfer therapy (MTT) had a systemic effect, resulting in substantial changes in plasma metabolites, driving a number of metabolites to be more similar to those from typically developing children. Our results provide evidence that changes in metabolites are one mechanism of the gut-brain connection mediated by the gut microbiota and offer plausible clinical evidence for a promising autism treatment and biomarkers.
越来越多的证据表明,肠道微生物群落失调与自闭症之间存在关联。粪便微生物群移植(FMT)是一种修复肠道微生物群落失调的有前途的治疗方法。我们之前对自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童进行了密集的 FMT,称为微生物转移治疗(MTT),观察到胃肠道和行为症状有了显著改善。我们还报告了肠道微生物组向健康方向的调节。在这项研究中,我们报告了参与 MTT 试验的儿童的血浆和粪便样本的综合代谢物谱。在检测到的 619 种血浆代谢物中,我们发现自闭症组在基线时具有独特的代谢特征。在 ASD 组中,有 8 种代谢物(烟酰胺核苷、IMP、亚氨基二乙酸、甲基琥珀酸、半乳糖酸盐、缬氨酸甘氨酸、肌氨酸和亮氨酰甘氨酸)在基线时明显降低,而辛酸盐和庚酸盐在 ASD 组中明显升高。MTT 驱动了各种代谢特征的血浆谱的全球变化,包括烟酸/烟酰胺和嘌呤代谢。相比之下,对于检测到的 669 种粪便代谢物,在进行多重假设校正时,基线时没有一种代谢物有显著差异。尽管没有统计学意义,但在基线时,ASD 组中的 - 对甲酚硫酸盐相对较高,而在 MTT 后,其水平下降并与典型发育(TD)对照组相似。- 对甲酚硫酸盐水平与 呈负相关,表明 可能在 - 对甲酚硫酸盐调节中起作用。需要对更大的 ASD 队列进行代谢物的进一步研究,包括 MTT 前后的研究,以及其他治疗方法的临床试验,以解决 MTT 未能纠正的代谢变化。尽管自闭症的患病率很高,对我们的社会也有广泛的影响,但美国食品和药物管理局尚未批准用于治疗这种复杂神经生物学疾病的方法。基于越来越多的证据支持自闭症与肠道微生物群之间的联系,我们之前使用密集的粪便微生物群移植进行了一项开创性的开放标签临床试验。该疗法显著改善了胃肠道和行为症状。本研究中的综合代谢组学测量表明,自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童在基线时与典型发育儿童相比,许多血浆代谢物的水平存在差异。微生物转移治疗(MTT)具有全身性作用,导致血浆代谢物发生显著变化,使许多代谢物变得更类似于典型发育儿童的代谢物。我们的研究结果提供了证据,表明代谢物的变化是肠道微生物群介导的肠道-大脑连接的一种机制,并为有前途的自闭症治疗和生物标志物提供了合理的临床证据。
Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019-11-7
Front Cell Neurosci. 2025-8-6
Front Microbiol. 2025-7-11
Front Neurosci. 2025-7-8
J Med Genet. 2025-4-17
Transl Psychiatry. 2019-1-29
Nat Genet. 2018-5-28
Nucleic Acids Res. 2018-7-2