Institute of Statistics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 14;18(2):667. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020667.
Over the past two decades, research into the role of the gut microbiome in regulating the central nervous system has rapidly increased. Several neurodevelopmental diseases have been linked to the unbalance of gut microbiota, including autism. Children on the autism spectrum often suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms, including constipation, which is four times more prevalent than it is in children without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although studies in animals have shown the crucial role of the microbiota in key aspects of neurodevelopment, there is currently no consensus on how the alteration of microbial composition affects the pathogenesis of ASD, let alone how it exerts an impact on the following comorbidities. In our study, we were able to control the effects of constipation on gut dysbiosis and distinguish neuropathological-related and gastrointestinal-related bacteria in ASD patients separately. By analyzing published data, eight additional bacteria significantly altered in autistic individuals were identified in our study. All of them had a decreased relative abundance in ASD patients, except Lactobacillaceae and Peptostreptococcaceae. Eighteen and eleven bacteria were significantly correlated with ASD symptoms and constipation, respectively. Among those, six bacteria were overlapped between the groups. We have found another six bacteria highly associated with constipation status in ASD patients only. By conducting Welch's t-test, we were able to demonstrate the critical roles of microbes in ASD core and gastrointestinal symptoms and raised the hypotheses of their confounding and mediating effects on the relationship between the two symptoms.
在过去的二十年中，研究肠道微生物组在调节中枢神经系统中的作用迅速增加。几种神经发育疾病与肠道微生物群失衡有关，包括自闭症。自闭症谱系儿童经常患有胃肠道症状，包括便秘，其发病率比非自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童高四倍。尽管动物研究表明微生物在神经发育的关键方面起着至关重要的作用，但目前对于微生物组成的改变如何影响 ASD 的发病机制，更不用说它如何对以下合并症产生影响，尚无共识。在我们的研究中，我们能够控制便秘对肠道菌群失调的影响，并分别区分 ASD 患者中的神经病理学相关和胃肠道相关细菌。通过分析已发表的数据，我们在研究中确定了另外 8 种在自闭症个体中明显改变的细菌。除了乳杆菌科和消化链球菌科外，所有这些细菌在 ASD 患者中的相对丰度都降低了。18 种和 11 种细菌分别与 ASD 症状和便秘显著相关。其中，两组之间有 6 种细菌重叠。我们还发现了另外 6 种仅与 ASD 患者便秘状况高度相关的细菌。通过进行 Welch t 检验，我们能够证明微生物在 ASD 核心症状和胃肠道症状中的关键作用，并提出了它们在这两个症状之间关系中的混杂和中介作用的假设。
