Singh Parul, Rawat Arun, Saadaoui Marwa, Elhag Duaa, Tomei Sara, Elanbari Mohammed, Akobeng Anthony K, Mustafa Amira, Abdelgadir Ibtihal, Udassi Sharda, Hendaus Mohammed A, Al Khodor Souhaila
Research Department, Sidra Medicine, Doha P.O. Box 26999, Qatar.
College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha P.O. Box 5825, Qatar.
Biomedicines. 2022 Jan 26;10(2):278. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10020278.
Vitamin D inadequacy appears to be on the rise globally, and it has been linked to an increased risk of osteoporosis, as well as metabolic, cardiovascular, and autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D concentrations are partially determined by genetic factors. Specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in vitamin D transport, metabolism, or binding have been found to be associated with its serum concentration, and these SNPs differ among ethnicities. Vitamin D has also been suggested to be a regulator of the gut microbiota and vitamin D deficiency as the possible cause of gut microbial dysbiosis and inflammation. This pilot study aims to fill the gap in our understanding of the prevalence, cause, and implications of vitamin D inadequacy in a pediatric population residing in Qatar. Blood and fecal samples were collected from healthy subjects aged 4-14 years. Blood was used to measure serum metabolite of vitamin D, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol 25(OH)D. To evaluate the composition of the gut microbiota, fecal samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing. High levels of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency were observed in our cohort with 97% of the subjects falling into the inadequate category (with serum 25(OH)D < 75 nmol/L). The CT genotype in rs12512631, an SNP in the gene, was associated with low serum levels of vitamin D (ANOVA, = 0.0356) and was abundant in deficient compared to non-deficient subjects. Overall gut microbial community structure was significantly different between the deficient (D) and non-deficient (ND) groups (Bray Curtis dissimilarity = 0.049), with deficient subjects also displaying reduced gut microbial diversity. Significant differences were observed among the two major gut phyla, (F) and (B), where deficient subjects displayed a higher B/F ratio ( = 0.0097) compared to ND. Vitamin D deficient children also demonstrated gut enterotypes dominated by the genus as opposed to . Our findings suggest that pediatric vitamin D inadequacy significantly impacts the gut microbiota. We also highlight the importance of considering host genetics and baseline gut microbiome composition in interpreting the clinical outcomes related to vitamin D deficiency as well as designing better personalized strategies for therapeutic interventions.
维生素D不足在全球范围内似乎呈上升趋势，并且它与骨质疏松症、代谢性疾病、心血管疾病及自身免疫性疾病的风险增加有关。维生素D浓度部分由遗传因素决定。已发现参与维生素D转运、代谢或结合的基因中的特定单核苷酸多态性（SNP）与其血清浓度相关，并且这些SNP在不同种族间存在差异。维生素D也被认为是肠道微生物群的调节剂，维生素D缺乏可能是肠道微生物失调和炎症的原因。这项初步研究旨在填补我们对卡塔尔居住的儿科人群中维生素D不足的患病率、原因及影响的认识空白。从4至14岁的健康受试者中采集血液和粪便样本。血液用于测量维生素D的血清代谢物25-羟基胆钙化醇[25(OH)D]。为评估肠道微生物群的组成，对粪便样本进行16S rRNA基因测序。在我们的队列中观察到高水平的维生素D缺乏/不足，97%的受试者属于不足类别（血清25(OH)D < 75 nmol/L）。rs12512631（一个基因中的SNP）的CT基因型与低血清维生素D水平相关（方差分析，P = 0.0356），与非缺乏受试者相比，在缺乏受试者中该基因型丰富。缺乏组（D）和非缺乏组（ND）之间的总体肠道微生物群落结构存在显著差异（Bray Curtis差异度 = 0.049），缺乏受试者的肠道微生物多样性也降低。在两个主要肠道门类，厚壁菌门（F）和拟杆菌门（B）之间观察到显著差异，与ND相比，缺乏受试者显示出更高的B/F比率（P = 0.0097）。维生素D缺乏的儿童还表现出以肠杆菌属为主导而非双歧杆菌属的肠道肠型。我们的研究结果表明，儿科维生素D不足会显著影响肠道微生物群。我们还强调了在解释与维生素D缺乏相关的临床结果以及设计更好的个性化治疗干预策略时，考虑宿主遗传学和基线肠道微生物群组成的重要性。
