Integrative analysis of the gut microbiota and metabolome in children with hand-foot-mouth disease by 16S rDNA gene sequencing and LC/MS-based metabolomics

The intestinal microbiota and their metabolites play an important role in host metabolism and health. In the present study, we explored the relationship between gut microbiota and their metabolites of children with hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). A total of 30 subjects with HFMD (S group) at average age of 2.16 years were enrolled according to gender and age matching, and 30 cases with viral enteritis (L group) and 30 children undergoing elective surgery but without intestinal diseases (W group) at similar age who diagnosed at the hospital during the same period were used as control groups. High throughput 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic nucleic acid (DNA ) sequencing and LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics were employed for metabolic and microbial profiling of fecal samples. Correlations between bacterial composition and fecal metabolomics were analyzed. The composition and diversity of gut microbiota in the HFMD patients were different from those in the controls, showing the high reduction of some potentially beneficial members of phylum Firmicutes belonging to Lachnospiraceae, Oscillibacter and Clostridium as well as the enrichment of some opportunistic pathogens belonging to Bacteroides and Paraprevotella in the HFMD patients. LC-MS-based untargeted fecal metabolomics revealed significant changes in the gut metabolomes between the three groups. Most of the differential expressed metabolites were involved in propanoate metabolism, lysine degradation and typtophan metabolism atty acid biosynthesis, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, caffeine metabolism, African trypanosomiasis and insulin resistance. The results provide a novel insight into understand the mechanisms underlying interactions between gut microbiota and fecal metabolites and their effects on the occurrence and development of HFMD.