Alteration of the fecal microbiota in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with altered gut microbiota. However, there has been little consensus on the altered bacterial species and studies have had small sample sizes. We aimed to identify the taxonomic composition and evaluate the changes in the fecal microbiota in Chinese children with ASD by using a relatively large sample size. We conducted a case–control study of 101 children with ASD and 103 healthy controls in China. Demographic information and fecal samples were collected, and the V3‐V4 hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene were sequenced. The alpha and beta diversities between the two groups were significantly different. After correcting for multiple comparisons, at the phylum level the relative abundances of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The relative abundance of the Escherichia‐Shigella genus in the case group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the relative abundance of Blautia and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae in the control group were higher than that of the case group. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States analysis showed that children with ASD may have disturbed functional pathways, such as amino acid metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism, and the AMP‐activated protein kinase signaling pathway. This study revealed the characteristics of the intestinal flora of Chinese children with ASD and provided further evidence of gut microbial dysbiosis in ASD. Lay Summary This study characterized the gut microbiota composition of 101 children with ASD and 103 healthy controls in China. The altered gut microbiota may contribute significantly to the risk of ASD, including significant increases in the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Escherichia‐Shigella and significant decrease of Blautia and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae. This study provided further evidence of gut microbial dysbiosis in ASD.

Gut Microbiota Profiles in Children and Adolescents with Psychiatric Disorders

“…A correlation between alpha diversity and the abundances of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium , and Oscillospira and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) total score was observed [ 32 ]. The opposite was found in the study of Xie et al (2022) [ 56 ].…”

“…Lower alpha diversity (microbial diversity within the same group’s samples) in ASD patients was described in ten studies [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], while in thirteen cases, higher alpha diversity was found [ 19 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. Another eleven studies did not reveal any significant differences in alpha diversity between ASD patients and healthy controls [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]. In the rest of the studies, information about alpha diversity differences were not provided [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”

Systematic review: Autism spectrum disorder and the gut microbiota

“…In phylum level, Proteobacteria was found to be increased in autistic samples in five studies 8,9,12,40,56 . In contrast, Zou et al found that Proteobacteria was decreased in children with ASD 39 .…”

“…In phylum level, Proteobacteria was found to be increased in autistic samples in five studies. 8,9,12,40,56 In contrast, Zou et al found that Proteobacteria was decreased in children with ASD. 39 Actinobacteria was found to be increased in autistic individuals in four studies, 8,40,47,56 while Ding et al reported opposite results.…”

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

“… 18 Changes in the gut microbiota may be involved in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with ASD, including significant increases in the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria . 19 Compared with neurotypical children, the development of gut microbiota in children with ASD was relatively stagnant and gradually deviated from the normal track. There was no significant change in alpha diversity with age in children with ASD, the early microbiota was unstable and immature and the common bacteria was difficult in colonization.…”