Fang Siwei, Hu Nanfei, Zhou Changci, You Jiajia, Wu Liwen, Pan Xiongfeng, Xiao Zhenghui, Qiu Jun
Pediatrics Research Institute of Hunan Province, The Affiliated Children's Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (Hunan Children's Hospital), Changsha, Hunan, 410007, China.
The School of Pediatrics, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421099, China.
Microb Cell Fact. 2025 Mar 14;24(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12934-025-02684-2.
To better understand the variations in gut microbiota in children with different types of epilepsy.
Thirty-seven children with epilepsy were included in the case group, which was further divided into focal (group A, n = 28) and generalized epilepsy groups (group B, n = 9) based on the origin and extent of the seizures. The focal epilepsy group was subdivided into the benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECT) (group C, n = 9) and non-BECT groups (group D, n = 19) based on the appearance of typical centrotemporal spikes or spike-wave complexes on the electroencephalogram (EEG). Additionally, 14 healthy children were selected as the control group (group E, n = 14).
Significant differences were observed in the diversity and composition of gut microbiota between the case and control groups. At the genus level, the abundance of Megamonas (P = 0.001), Streptococcus (P<0.001), Romboutsia (P = 0.001), Bacteroides (P<0.05), and Escherichia/Shigella (P<0.05) was significantly higher in the focal epilepsy group than in the control group (0.027 vs. 0.00009, P = 0.001; 0.016 vs. 0.002, P<0.001; 0.013 vs. 0.002, P = 0.001; 0.030 vs. 0.002, P<0.05, respectively). Additionally, Escherichia/Shigella (P<0.05) was more abundant in the case group compared to the control group (0.033 vs. 0.002, P<0.05). Bacteroides (P<0.05) was more abundant in the control group than in the case group. Megamonas (P<0.001) and Collinsella (P<0.05) were significantly more prevalent in the BECT group than in the control group (0.034 vs. 0.00009, P<0.001; 0.014 vs. 0.001, P<0.05, respectively). In the non-BECT group, compared to the control group, Megamonas (P = 0.013), Streptococcus (P<0.001), Romboutsia (P = 0.001), and Escherichia/Shigella (P<0.05) were found in greater abundance (0.023 vs. 0.00009, P = 0.013; 0.018 vs. 0.002, P<0.001; 0.014 vs. 0.002, P = 0.001; 0.037 vs. 0.002, P<0.05, respectively).
Though, there were no statistically significant differences in gut microbiota between the different types of epilepsy, the gut microbiota of children with epilepsy significantly differed from that of healthy controls. The increased abundance of Escherichia/Shigella may lead to the worsening of clinical phenotypes and poor prognosis, and it could be a candidate biomarker to identify the focal epilepsy or even non-benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, potentially providing new therapeutic targets for the future.
更好地了解不同类型癫痫患儿肠道微生物群的变化。
病例组纳入37例癫痫患儿，根据癫痫发作的起源和范围进一步分为局灶性癫痫组（A组，n = 28）和全身性癫痫组（B组，n = 9）。局灶性癫痫组根据脑电图（EEG）上典型的中央颞区棘波或棘慢复合波的出现情况，再细分为儿童良性中央颞区棘波癫痫（BECT）组（C组，n = 9）和非BECT组（D组，n = 19）。另外，选取14名健康儿童作为对照组（E组，n = 14）。
病例组与对照组肠道微生物群的多样性和组成存在显著差异。在属水平上，局灶性癫痫组中巨单胞菌属（P = 0.001）、链球菌属（P<0.001）、罗氏菌属（P = 0.001）、拟杆菌属（P<0.05）和埃希菌属/志贺菌属（P<0.05）的丰度显著高于对照组（分别为0.027 vs. 0.00009，P = 0.001；0.016 vs. 0.002，P<0.001；0.013 vs. 0.002，P = 0.001；0.030 vs. 0.002，P<0.05）。此外，病例组中埃希菌属/志贺菌属（P<0.05）的丰度高于对照组（0.033 vs. 0.002，P<0.05）。拟杆菌属（P<0.05）在对照组中的丰度高于病例组。巨单胞菌属（P<0.001）和柯林斯菌属（P<0.05）在BECT组中的患病率显著高于对照组（分别为0.034 vs. 0.00009，P<0.001；0.014 vs. 0.001，P<0.05）。在非BECT组中，与对照组相比，巨单胞菌属（P = 0.013）、链球菌属（P<0.001）、罗氏菌属（P = 0.001）和埃希菌属/志贺菌属（P<0.05）的丰度更高（分别为0.023 vs. 0.00009，P = 0.013；0.018 vs. 0.002，P<0.001；0.014 vs. 0.002，P = 0.001；0.037 vs. 0.002，P<0.05）。
虽然不同类型癫痫之间肠道微生物群无统计学显著差异，但癫痫患儿的肠道微生物群与健康对照组显著不同。埃希菌属/志贺菌属丰度增加可能导致临床表型恶化和预后不良，它可能是识别局灶性癫痫甚至是伴有中央颞区棘波的非良性儿童癫痫的候选生物标志物，有望为未来提供新的治疗靶点。
