Department of Pediatrics, Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University and Jinhua Municipal Central Hospital, Jinhua, China.
Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, National Children's Regional Medical Center, Hangzhou, China.
Eur J Pediatr. 2023 Oct;182(10):4537-4546. doi: 10.1007/s00431-023-05132-8. Epub 2023 Jul 31.
Idiopathic short stature (ISS) accounts for more than 70% of childhood short stature cases, with an undefined etiology and pathogenesis, leading to limited treatment. However, recent studies have shown that intestinal microbiota may be associated with ISS. This study aimed to characterize the intestinal microbiota in children with ISS, effect of treatment with growth hormones, and association between specific bacterial species and ISS. This study enrolled 55 children, comprising 40 diagnosed with ISS at Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University, and 15 healthy controls. The subjects with ISS were divided into the untreated ISS group (UISS group, 22 children who had not been treated with recombinant human growth hormone [rhGH]), treated ISS group (TISS group, 18 children treated with rhGH for 1 year), and control group (NC group, 15 healthy children). High-throughput sequencing was used to determine the intestinal microbiota characteristics. Higher abundances of Bacteroides, Prevotella, Alistipes, Parabacteroides, Agathobacter and Roseburia were found in the UISS and TISS groups than in the control group, whereas Bifidobacterium, Subdoligranulum, and Romboutsia were less abundant. The composition of intestinal microbiota in the UISS and TISS groups was almost identical, except for Prevotella. The TISS group had significantly lower levels of Prevotella than did the UISS group, which were closer to those of the NC group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the abundances of Prevotella, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Subdoligranulum were effective in differentiating between the UISS and NC groups.
Alterations in intestinal microbiota may be associated with ISS. Specific bacterial species, such as Prevotella, may be potential diagnostic markers for ISS.
• ISS is associated with the GH-IGF-1 axis. • Recent studies indicated an association between the GH-IGF-1 axis and intestinal microbiota.
• Children with ISS showed alterations in intestinal microbiota, with a relative increase in the abundance of gut inflammation-related bacteria. • The relative abundances of Prevotella, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, and Subdoligranulum may serve as potential diagnostic markers.
描述特发性身材矮小（ISS）患儿的肠道微生物群特征，评估生长激素（GH）治疗对肠道微生物群的影响，以及特定细菌种类与 ISS 之间的相关性。
纳入浙江大学金华医院的 40 例 ISS 患儿（未接受 rhGH 治疗的 ISS 患儿[UISS 组]22 例，接受 rhGH 治疗 1 年的 ISS 患儿[TISS 组]18 例）和 15 名健康儿童（NC 组），采用高通量测序技术分析肠道微生物群特征。
UISS 组和 TISS 组患儿肠道中拟杆菌属、普雷沃氏菌属、双歧杆菌属、副拟杆菌属、阿克曼氏菌属和罗斯伯里氏菌属的丰度高于 NC 组，而双歧杆菌属、副拟杆菌属和罗姆布茨氏菌属的丰度低于 NC 组。UISS 组和 TISS 组患儿肠道微生物群的组成基本相似，仅拟普雷沃氏菌属存在差异。TISS 组患儿的拟普雷沃氏菌属丰度明显低于 UISS 组，与 NC 组更为接近。ROC 曲线分析显示，拟普雷沃氏菌属、双歧杆菌属、拟杆菌属和副拟杆菌属的丰度可有效区分 UISS 患儿与 NC 组。
肠道微生物群的改变可能与 ISS 有关，拟普雷沃氏菌属等特定细菌种类可能是 ISS 的潜在诊断标志物。
