Department of Pediatrics, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Jun 10;13:890200. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.890200. eCollection 2022.
The gut microbiome is important for host nutrition and metabolism. Whether the gut microbiome under normal diet regulate human height remains to be addressed. Our study explored the possible relationship between gut microbiota, its metabolic products and the pathogenesis of idiopathic short stature disease (ISS) by comparing the gut microbiota between children with ISS and of normal height, and also the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by the gut microbiota.
The subjects of this study were 32 prepubescent children aged 4-8 years. The fecal microbial structure of the subjects was analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology. The concentrations of SCFAs in feces were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
The richness of gut microbiota in ISS group was decreased, and the composition of gut microbiota was significantly different between ISS group and control group. The relative abundance of nine species including family Ruminococcaceae and genera and , in ISS group was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05). The relative abundance of 10 species, such as those belonging to genus and genus , in ISS group was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). The concentration of total SCFAs and butyrate in ISS group was significantly lower than that in control group. The correlation analysis among different species, clinical indicators, and SCFAs showed that the relative abundance of family Ruminococcaceae and genera and was positively correlated with the standard deviation score of height. Furthermore, the concentrations of total SCFAs and butyrate were positively correlated with serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)-SDS. Disease prediction model constructed based on the bacteria who abundance differed between healthy children and ISS children exhibited high diagnostic value (AUC: 0.88).
The composition of gut microbiota and the change in its metabolite levels may be related to ISS pathogenesis. Strains with increased or decreased specificity could be used as biomarkers to diagnose ISS.
肠道微生物群对宿主的营养和代谢很重要。在正常饮食下，肠道微生物群是否调节人类身高仍有待研究。本研究通过比较特发性身材矮小症（ISS）患儿和正常身高儿童的肠道微生物群及其代谢产物，探讨了肠道微生物群、其代谢产物与 ISS 发病机制的可能关系，还分析了肠道微生物群产生的短链脂肪酸（SCFAs）。
本研究的研究对象为 32 名 4-8 岁的青春期前儿童。采用 16S rRNA 高通量测序技术分析受试者粪便微生物结构，采用气相色谱-质谱法测定粪便中 SCFAs 的浓度。
ISS 组肠道微生物丰富度降低，ISS 组和对照组肠道微生物组成存在显著差异。ISS 组中包括 Ruminococcaceae 科和 属和 属在内的 9 种菌的相对丰度明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。ISS 组中 10 种菌，如 属和 属的相对丰度明显高于对照组（P<0.05）。ISS 组总 SCFAs 和丁酸盐浓度明显低于对照组。不同物种与临床指标和 SCFAs 的相关性分析表明，Ruminococcaceae 科和 属和 属的相对丰度与身高标准差评分呈正相关。此外，总 SCFAs 和丁酸盐浓度与血清胰岛素样生长因子 1（IGF-1）-SDS 呈正相关。基于健康儿童和 ISS 儿童之间丰度差异的细菌构建的疾病预测模型具有较高的诊断价值（AUC：0.88）。
肠道微生物群的组成及其代谢产物水平的变化可能与 ISS 的发病机制有关。具有特异性增加或减少的菌株可以作为诊断 ISS 的生物标志物。
