已有大量研究表明自闭症可能与肠道菌群紊乱有关。也有报道给自闭症儿童服用某些益生菌能够减去自闭症症状甚至治愈。自闭症儿童常出现胃肠道失调，可能肠道微生物组成也相应发生变化。这些报道提示我们自闭症与肠道健康状况密切相关。 最近的一项来自美国哥伦比亚大学的研究表明，超过一半的伴有胃肠功能肠癌的自闭症儿童肠道中发现了一种肠道微生物-萨特菌( Sutterella ）。他们通过回肠和盲肠活体组织取样检测共生微生物多样性，对伴有胃肠功能肠癌的自闭症儿童和仅患有胃肠功能障碍的正常儿童对比发现，发现在一些自闭症儿童肠道中检测到了产碱菌科 Alcaligenaceae 的某些成员，而对照组中没有发现。而这些产碱菌属水平的升高是由于萨特菌( Sutterella ）的水平较高。通过对 Sutterella 的16S rRNA 基因序列分析发现，在23个伴有胃肠功能肠癌的自闭症儿童中的12个个体中都发现了萨特菌( Sutterella ），而在9个对照组完全没有发现萨特菌( Sutterella ）的存在。进一步的系统发育分析表明，在检测的12个个体中的11个阳性个体中，其肠道萨特菌( Sutterella ）中有两类菌占绝大多数，他们分别是华德萨特菌 Sutterella wadsworthensis 和 Sutterella stercoricanis 。 此外，他们首次报道了一种萨特菌特异PCR（ Sutterella -specific PCR），用于从生物或环境样品中对萨特菌( Sutterella ）进行检测、定量以及基因型分析。 自闭症影响着世界上大约1%的人群，对肠道微生物的研究，尤其是共生微生物的研究将有助于我们了解肠道微生物与自闭症的关系。 附原文摘要： Application of Novel PCR-Based Methods for Detection, Quantitation,and Phylogenetic Characterization of Sutterella Species in Intestinal Biopsy Samples from Children with Autism and Gastrointestinal Disturbances Brent L. Williams, Mady Hornig, Tanmay Parekh, and W. Ian Lipkin Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA ABSTRACT Gastrointestinal disturbances are commonly reported in children with autism and may be associated with compositional changes in intestinal bacteria. In a previous report, we surveyed intestinal microbiota in ileal and cecal biopsy samples from children with autism and gastrointestinal dysfunction (AUT-GI) and children with only gastrointestinal dysfunction (Control-GI). Our results demonstrated the presence of members of the family Alcaligenaceae in some AUT-GI children, while no Control-GI children had Alcaligenaceae sequences. Here we demonstrate that increased levels of Alcaligenaceae in intestinal biopsy samples from AUT-GI children result from the presence of high levels of members of the genus Sutterella.We also report the first Sutterella-specific PCR assays for detecting, quantitating, and genotyping Sutterella species in biological and environmental samples. Sutterella 16S rRNA gene sequences were found in 12 of 23 AUT-GI children but in none of 9 Control-GI children. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a predominance of either Sutterella wadsworthensis or Sutterella stercoricanis in 11 of the individual Sutterella-positive AUT-GI patients; in one AUT-GI patient, Sutterella sequences were obtained that could not be given a species-level classification based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences of known Sutterella isolates. Western immunoblots revealed plasma IgG or IgM antibody reactivity to Sutterella wadsworthensis antigens in 11 AUT-GI patients, 8 of whom were also PCR positive, indicating the presence of an immune response to Sutterella in some children. IMPORTANCE Autism spectrum disorders affect ~1% of the population. Many children with autism have gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances that can complicate clinical management and contribute to behavioral problems. Understanding the molecular and microbial underpinnings of these GI issues is of paramount importance for elucidating pathogenesis, rendering diagnosis, and administering informed treatment. Here we describe an association between high levels of intestinal, mucoepithelial-associated Sutterella species and GI disturbances in children with autism. These findings elevate this little-recognized bacterium to the forefront by demonstrating that Sutterella is a major component of the microbiota in over half of children with autism and gastrointestinal dysfunction (AUT-GI) and is absent in children with only gastrointestinal dysfunction (Control-GI) evaluated in this study. Furthermore, these findings bring into question the role Sutterella plays in the human microbiota in health and disease. With the Sutterella-specific molecular assays described here, some of these questions can begin to be addressed. 原文链接： MBio. 2012 Jan 10;3(1). pii: e00261-11. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00261-11 http://mbio.asm.org/content/3/1/e00261-11.long 谢谢牛登科老师提供链接！
标签: 胃肠道
