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Plasma and Fecal Metabolite Profiles in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Brittany D Needham1, Mark D Adame1, Gloria Serena2
1Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.
Biological Psychiatry
|December 21, 2020
Summary
Metabolic differences in amino acids, lipids, and xenobiotics are found in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These findings link metabolism and gut health to ASD behaviors, potentially aiding biomarker discovery.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Neuroscience
- Microbiome research
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication impairments and restricted repetitive behaviors.
- Individuals with ASD often exhibit metabolic imbalances, immune dysregulation, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and altered gut microbiome compositions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate non-behavioral molecular signatures in peripheral tissues of children with ASD.
- To compare the global metabolome of plasma and fecal samples from children with ASD and typically developing controls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) for broad metabolite profiling.
- Analyzed 231 plasma and 97 fecal samples from a large cohort of children.
Main Results:
- Identified distinct metabolic profiles in ASD samples, including alterations in amino acid, lipid, and xenobiotic metabolism.
- Implicated oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, hormone level changes, and altered phenolic microbial metabolites in ASD.
- Correlated specific metabolite profiles with clinical behavior scores and gastrointestinal dysfunction.
Conclusions:
- Established a link between metabolism, gastrointestinal physiology, and complex behavioral traits in ASD.
- Findings may facilitate the discovery and development of novel molecular biomarkers for ASD.
- Identified metabolites for potential fecal microbial transplant studies.
