- Bacterial activity in the mouth may help identify children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)
- Gene expression activity within oral microbial communities is altered in children with autism spectrum disorder
- Autism is associated with several abnormalities related to the mouth and throat, which includes taste and texture aversions, speech difficulties and salivary transcriptome alterations
"There is mounting evidence that the GI microbiome is disrupted in children with ASD, and this study shows that this disruption may extend to the mouth and throat. It appears that gene expression activity within oral microbial communities is altered in children with autism spectrum disorder," said Steven Hicks, MD, Ph.D., of Penn State Hershey, lead investigator on the project.
"The shifts in microbial populations were associated with ASD co-morbidities such as GI disturbances, as well as social and repetitive behaviors. This research suggests that measuring the activity of these microbial populations in saliva may provide objective biomarkers to aid in the clinical evaluation of ASD."
In this study, researchers identified changes in the salivary microbiome of 346 children aged 2-6 years across three developmental profiles: ASD (n=180), non-autistic developmental delay (DD) (n=60), and typically developing children (TD) (n=106). Saliva was collected via a cheek swab from each study participant. RNA from actively transcribing microbes was sequenced, quantified and analyzed across the three groups of children. ASD children with and without GI disturbances were also compared.
The researchers found 12 groups of microbes to be altered between the development status groups and identified 28 groups that distinguished ASD patients with and without GI disturbances. Five ratios of microbes distinguished ASD from TD children (79.5% accuracy), three distinguished ASD from DD (76.5% accuracy), and three distinguished ASD children with/without GI disturbance (85.7% accuracy). Interestingly, the microbial gene expression patterns associated with autism were implicated in energy processing.
"We saw significant differences in gene expression in these organisms that were associated with lysine degradation, an important building block in neurotransmitter production."
"Our aim is to offer a molecular diagnostic that can provide objective support for the diagnosis of ASD as early as possible when treatment is most efficacious."
Source-Eurekalert