Characterization of the Rett syndrome gut microbiota

The human gut microbiota directly affects human health and its alteration can lead to gastrointestinal abnormalities and inflammation. Gastrointestinal dysfunctions are a common feature of Rett syndrome (RTT), a progressive neurological disorder mainly caused by a mutation in MeCP2, thus implying a link between RTT and the gut microbiota. We evaluated the bacterial and fungal gut microbiota of a cohort of RTT patients by a multilevel approach that combined clinical, metabolomics and metagenomics data to understand whether changes in the gut microbiota of RTT patients could be associated with GI abnormalities and inflammatory status.