Intestinal Flora Composition In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objective The intestinal flora composition of children with autism spectrum disorder and normal children was analyzed to understand the intestinal flora composition of children with autism spectrum disorder and to explore the role of intestinal flora in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder,in order to provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of ASD.Methods According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fififth edition(DSM-Ⅴ)diagnostic criteria,Sixty children diagnosed with ASD for the first time in the Rehabilitation clinic of Anhui Children’s Hospital from January 2022 to June 2022 were selected as the ASD group,and 39 healthy children in the same period were selected as the control group.There were 60 patients in ASD group,including 46 males and 14 females,aged 2-6 years(3.44±0.99),and 39 patients in control group,including 28 males and 11 females,aged 2-6 years(3.84±1.07).There was no statistical significance in age or gender between the two groups(P > 0.05).Sterile cotton swabs were used to collect about 1g of fresh feces within 5 minutes after the two groups of children’s excretion.The feces were fully dissolved in the bacterial DNA preservation solution and stored in the refrigerator within 1 day.The samples were then sent to the laboratory,where DNA extraction,PCR amplification,sequence analysis,species annotation and biological information analysis were performed.(1)The different flora of children with autism spectrum disorder and children in the control group at the level of phylum,class,order,family and genus;(2)Alpha diversity index(Chao1,Shannon,Simpson,etc.)and Beta diversity;(3)Bugbase and Picrust function prediction;(4)ROC curve was drawn to understand the predictive function of intestinal flora in children with autism spectrum disorders.Results There was no significant difference in α diversity(Shannon index,Chao1 index and Simpson index)between the children with autism spectrum disorder group and the healthy control group(P > 0.05).weighted unifracbased Pco A analysis showed that the intestinal flora of the two groups overlapped,but showed a tendency to separate,suggesting a difference between the ASD group and the control group(P<0.05);At the phylum level,the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in ASD group was lower than that in the control group,and the relative abundance of Actinobacteria was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05);On a generic level,Bifidobacterium,Fusicatenibacter,Flavonifractor genus,Tyzzerella,Streptococcus and Ruminococcus_g navus_group),Blautia and Lachnoclostridium were abundant in ASD group(P<0.05),While Prevotella,[Eubacterium]_eligens_group,Roseburia,Coprococcus and [Eubacterium]_copros tanoligenes_group)was abundant in the control group(P<0.05).The prediction of intestinal flora function based on Bugbuse phenotype indicated that the contents of Gram-positive bacteria,facultative bacteria and aerobe in ASD group were higher than those in control group,as well as the contents of mobile components,biofilm formation ability and oxidative stress ability,but there was no statistical significance(P>0.05).Picrust function prediction indicated that substance metabolism and neurotransmitter function in children with ASD were stronger than those in control group.The ROC curve suggested that the AUC value of intestinal flora for children with autism spectrum disorder was 0.76(95%CI: 0.722-0.798),indicating that intestinal flora had certain predictive function for ASD.Conclusion 1.The intestinal flora composition of children with autism spectrum disorder is significantly different from that of normal children;2.The intestinal flora function of children with autism spectrum disorders is inconsistent with that of normal children,mainly manifested in increased metabolism and neurotransmitter pathways.3.Intestinal flora has a certain predictive function for children with autism spectrum.