Data_Sheet_2_Alteration of the gut microbiota profile in children with autism spectrum disorder in China.PDF

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with alterations in the gut microbiome. However, there are few studies on gut microbiota of children with ASD in China, and there is a lack of consensus on the changes of bacterial species.
PurposeAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with alterations in the gut microbiome. However, there are few studies on gut microbiota of children with ASD in China, and there is a lack of consensus on the changes of bacterial species.
MethodsWe used 16S rRNA sequencing to analyze ASD children (2 to 12 years), HC (2 to 12 years).
ResultsOur findings showed that the α-diversity, composition, and relative abundance of gut microbiota in the ASD group were significantly different from those in the HC groups. Compared with the HC group, the α-diversity in the ASD group was significantly decreased. At the genus level, the relative abundance of g_Faecalibacterium, g_Blautia, g_Eubacterium_eligens_group, g_Parasutterella, g_Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and g_Veillonella in ASD group was significantly increased than that in HC groups, while the relative abundance of g_Prevotella 9 and g_Agathobacter was significantly decreased than that in HC groups. In addition, KEGG pathway analysis showed that the microbial functional abnormalities in ASD patients were mainly concentrated in metabolic pathways related to fatty acid, amino acid metabolism and aromatic compound metabolism, and were partially involved in neurotransmitter metabolism.
ConclusionThis study revealed the characteristics of gut microbiota of Chinese children with ASD and provided further evidence of gut microbial dysbiosis in ASD.

背景：自闭症谱系障碍（Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD）与肠道菌群结构改变密切相关。然而，目前国内针对自闭症儿童肠道菌群的研究相对较少，且关于菌群物种变化的学界共识仍较为缺乏。
目的：自闭症谱系障碍（Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD）与肠道菌群结构改变密切相关。然而，目前国内针对自闭症儿童肠道菌群的研究相对较少，且关于菌群物种变化的学界共识仍较为缺乏。
方法：本研究采用16S核糖体RNA（16S rRNA）测序技术，对2至12岁的自闭症谱系障碍儿童与健康对照（Healthy Control, HC）儿童（年龄范围为2~12岁）的肠道菌群进行分析。
结果：本研究结果显示，自闭症组儿童的肠道菌群α多样性、菌群组成及物种相对丰度均与健康对照组存在显著差异。与健康对照组相比，自闭症组儿童的肠道菌群α多样性显著降低。在属水平上，自闭症组儿童的粪杆菌属（Faecalibacterium）、布劳特氏菌属（Blautia）、艾氏真杆菌群（Eubacterium_eligens_group）、副萨特氏菌属（Parasutterella）、毛螺菌科NK4A136群（Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group）以及韦荣球菌属（Veillonella）的相对丰度显著高于健康对照组；而普雷沃氏菌属9（Prevotella 9）与阿格杆菌属（Agathobacter）的相对丰度则显著低于健康对照组。此外，京都基因与基因组百科全书（Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, KEGG）通路分析结果显示，自闭症患者的微生物功能异常主要集中于脂肪酸代谢、氨基酸代谢及芳香族化合物代谢相关通路，且部分涉及神经递质代谢过程。
结论：本研究阐明了中国自闭症谱系障碍儿童的肠道菌群特征，为自闭症患者存在肠道菌群失调提供了进一步的实验证据。