Meng Si, Huang Wenyan, Peng Bo, Zhao Xuedan, Feng Qiong, Liu Wei, Liu Weijia, Wang Lijing, Ge Lihong, Lin Rong, Zeng Sujuan, Sheng Ting
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Oral Restoration and Reconstruction & Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Applied Research of Oral Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510182, China.
Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, 510440, China.
Microb Pathog. 2025 Oct;207:107904. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2025.107904. Epub 2025 Jul 14.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, with growing evidence suggesting that certain oral microorganisms may worsen ASD symptoms. Caries is closely linked to the nervous system and influences the composition of oral microorganisms. Therefore, when studying the oral microbial composition in ASD, the effects of caries must be excluded to accurately identify potential oral causative agents of ASD.
A case-control study was conducted with 30 children diagnosed with ASD and 34 typically developing (TD) control children, both with and without caries, from Guangzhou city. Participants were categorized into four groups: ASD without caries (ASD-N), ASD with caries (ASD-C), TD without caries (TD-N), and TD with caries (TD-C). Plaque and saliva samples were collected from all participants and analyzed using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to evaluate changes in oral microbial composition and diversity in children with ASD under varying caries conditions.
The alpha diversity of plaque and saliva microorganisms was generally lower, and beta diversity differed significantly between children with ASD and control groups. At the phylum level, the two most dominant phyla were Bacillota and Actinomycetota. At the genus level, the predominant genera were Streptococcus and Porphyromonas. LEfSe analysis revealed that certain taxa, such as Ruminococcaceae bacterium UCG-005 and Lactobacillus mucilaginosus in dental plaque, and Actinobacillus in saliva, were significantly more abundant in caries-free ASD children compared to caries-free controls(P < 0.001). Furthermore, Prevotella, Carnobacterium and Suttonella in plaque, along with Peptostreptococcus in saliva, were more prevalent in caries-free ASD children compared to caries-affected controls (P < 0.001).
Caries impacts the diversity and composition of oral microorganisms in children with ASD. The dominant genera, Streptococcus and Porphyromonas, are linked to both caries and the development of ASD. Certain biomarkers in children with caries were associated with caries, whereas others in caries-free ASD children were linked to ASD itself. These findings offer new insights into identifying the true oral pathogens related to ASD.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种常见的神经发育障碍，越来越多的证据表明某些口腔微生物可能会加重ASD症状。龋齿与神经系统密切相关，并影响口腔微生物的组成。因此，在研究ASD患者的口腔微生物组成时，必须排除龋齿的影响，以准确识别ASD潜在的口腔致病因素。
对来自广州市的30名被诊断为ASD的儿童和34名发育正常（TD）的对照儿童进行了一项病例对照研究，这些儿童均有或无龋齿。参与者被分为四组：无龋齿的ASD（ASD-N）、有龋齿的ASD（ASD-C）、无龋齿的TD（TD-N）和有龋齿的TD（TD-C）。从所有参与者中收集菌斑和唾液样本，并使用16S rRNA高通量测序进行分析，以评估不同龋齿状况下ASD儿童口腔微生物组成和多样性的变化。
菌斑和唾液微生物的α多样性普遍较低，ASD儿童与对照组之间的β多样性存在显著差异。在门水平上，两个最主要的门是芽孢杆菌门（Bacillota）和放线菌门（Actinomycetota）。在属水平上，主要的属是链球菌属（Streptococcus）和卟啉单胞菌属（Porphyromonas）。线性判别分析效应大小（LEfSe）分析显示，与无龋齿的对照组相比，无龋齿的ASD儿童牙菌斑中的某些分类群，如瘤胃球菌科细菌UCG-005和黏液乳杆菌（Lactobacillus mucilaginosus），以及唾液中的放线杆菌属（Actinobacillus），丰度显著更高（P < 0.001）。此外，与有龋齿的对照组相比，无龋齿的ASD儿童菌斑中的普雷沃菌属（Prevotella）、肉食杆菌属（Carnobacterium）和萨顿菌属（Suttonella），以及唾液中的消化链球菌属（Peptostreptococcus）更为普遍（P < 0.001）。
龋齿会影响ASD儿童口腔微生物的多样性和组成。主要的属，链球菌属和卟啉单胞菌属与龋齿和ASD的发展都有关联。有龋齿儿童中的某些生物标志物与龋齿有关，而无龋齿的ASD儿童中的其他生物标志物与ASD本身有关。这些发现为识别与ASD相关的真正口腔病原体提供了新的见解。
