Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 23;14(1):16929. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-67835-8.
Neurodevelopmental disorders are rapidly increasing in prevalence and have been linked to various environmental risk factors. Mounting evidence suggests a potential role of vitamin D in child neurodevelopment, though the causal mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we investigate how vitamin D deficiency affects children's communication development, particularly in relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We do so by developing an integrative network approach that combines metabolomic profiles, clinical traits, and neurodevelopmental data from a pediatric cohort. Our results show that low levels of vitamin D are associated with changes in the metabolic networks of tryptophan, linoleic, and fatty acid metabolism. These changes correlate with distinct ASD-related phenotypes, including delayed communication skills and respiratory dysfunctions. Additionally, our analysis suggests the kynurenine and serotonin sub-pathways may mediate the effect of vitamin D on early life communication development. Altogether, our findings provide metabolome-wide insights into the potential of vitamin D as a therapeutic option for ASD and other communication disorders.
神经发育障碍的患病率正在迅速上升，并且与各种环境风险因素有关。越来越多的证据表明维生素 D 可能对儿童神经发育有作用，但因果机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。在这里，我们通过开发一种整合的网络方法，结合代谢组学谱、临床特征和儿科队列的神经发育数据，来研究维生素 D 缺乏如何影响儿童的沟通发育，特别是与自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的关系。我们的研究结果表明，维生素 D 水平低与色氨酸、亚油酸和脂肪酸代谢的代谢网络变化有关。这些变化与不同的 ASD 相关表型相关，包括沟通技能延迟和呼吸功能障碍。此外，我们的分析表明，犬尿氨酸和血清素亚途径可能介导维生素 D 对生命早期沟通发育的影响。总的来说，我们的研究结果为维生素 D 作为 ASD 和其他沟通障碍的治疗选择提供了代谢组学的广泛见解。
