Department of Prevention and Healthcare, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530021, China.
Department of Microbiology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530021, China.
BMC Microbiol. 2024 Oct 25;24(1):431. doi: 10.1186/s12866-024-03579-9.
The awareness of the association between the gut microbiota and human intelligence levels is increasing, but the findings are inconsistent. Furthermore, few research have explored the potential role of gut microbial metabolites in this association. This study aimed to investigate the associations of the gut microbiota and fecal metabolome with intelligence quotient (IQ) in preschoolers.
The 16 S rRNA sequencing and widely targeted metabolomics were applied to analyze the gut microbiota and fecal metabolites of 150 children aged 3-6 years. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) was used to assess the cognitive competence.
The observed species index, gut microbiome health index, and microbial dysbiosis index presented significant differences between children with full-scale IQ (FSIQ) below the borderline (G1) and those with average or above-average (all P < 0.05). The abundance of Acinetobacter, Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Prevotella_9, Subdoligranulum, Collinsella, Dialister, Holdemanella, and Methanobrevibacter was significantly associated with preschooler's WPPSI-IV scores (P < 0.05). In all, 87 differential metabolites were identified, mainly including amino acid and its metabolites, fatty acyl, and benzene and substituted derivatives. The differential fecal metabolites carnitine C20:1-OH, 4-hydroxydebrisoquine, pantothenol, creatine, N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) dodecanamide, FFA(20:5), zerumbone, (R)-(-)-2-phenylpropionic acid, M-toluene acetic acid, trans-cinnamaldehyde, isonicotinic acid, val-arg, traumatin, and 3-methyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde were significantly associated with the preschooler's WPPSI-IV scores (P < 0.05). The combination of Acinetobacter, Isonicotinic acid, and 3-methyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehydenine may demonstrate increased discriminatory power for preschoolers in G1.
This study reveals a potential association between gut microbiome and metabolites with IQ in preschoolers, providing new directions for future research and practical applications. However, due to limitations such as the small sample size, unclear causality, and the complexity of metabolites, more validation studies are still needed to further elucidate the mechanisms and stability of these associations.
人们对肠道微生物群与人类智力水平之间的关联的认识正在提高，但研究结果并不一致。此外，很少有研究探讨肠道微生物代谢产物在这种关联中的潜在作用。本研究旨在探讨学龄前儿童肠道微生物群和粪便代谢组与智商（IQ）的关系。
采用 16S rRNA 测序和广泛靶向代谢组学方法分析了 150 名 3-6 岁儿童的肠道微生物群和粪便代谢物。采用韦氏学龄前和小学智力量表第四版（WPPSI-IV）评估认知能力。
全智商（FSIQ）低于边界值（G1）的儿童与平均或高于平均水平的儿童（所有 P < 0.05）之间的观测种指数、肠道微生物群健康指数和微生物失调指数存在显著差异。不动杆菌、布劳特氏菌、粪杆菌、普雷沃氏菌 9、副拟杆菌、柯林斯氏菌、粪肠球菌、海氏肠球菌、甲烷短杆菌的丰度与学龄前儿童 WPPSI-IV 评分显著相关（P < 0.05）。共鉴定出 87 种差异代谢物，主要包括氨基酸及其代谢物、脂肪酸酰基和苯及取代衍生物。差异粪便代谢物肉碱 C20:1-OH、4-羟基去甲安定、泛酸、肌酸、N，N-双（2-羟乙基）十二烷酰胺、FFA（20:5）、莪术醇、（R）-（-）-2-苯丙酸、M-对甲苯乙酸、反式肉桂醛、异烟酰胺、缬氨酸-精氨酸、创伤素和 3-甲基-4-羟基苯甲醛与学龄前儿童 WPPSI-IV 评分显著相关（P < 0.05）。不动杆菌、异烟酰胺和 3-甲基-4-羟基苯甲醛的组合可能对 G1 中的学龄前儿童具有更高的区分能力。
本研究揭示了学龄前儿童肠道微生物群和代谢物与智商之间的潜在关联，为未来的研究和实际应用提供了新的方向。然而，由于样本量小、因果关系不明确以及代谢物的复杂性等限制，仍需要更多的验证研究来进一步阐明这些关联的机制和稳定性。
