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Stability of the gut microbiota in persons with paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and related demyelinating

Geoffrey Liang1, Feng Zhu1, Ali I Mirza1

  • 1Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada/The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
|March 17, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Gut microbiota in paediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) and acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) is stable across samples. This stability supports using single stool samples for initial gut microbiome analysis in these conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Pediatric Neurology

Background:

  • The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in immune system development and function.
  • Alterations in gut microbiota have been implicated in various autoimmune and neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS).
  • Understanding the stability of gut microbiota in pediatric-onset neurological conditions is essential for diagnostic and research approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the longitudinal stability of gut microbiota composition in children diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) or monophasic-acquired demyelinating syndromes (monoADS).
  • To determine if repeated stool sample analysis reveals significant changes in gut microbial communities over time in these pediatric populations.
  • To assess the feasibility of using single stool samples for initial gut microbiome assessments in pediatric-onset MS and monoADS.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of stool samples from 36 participants (18 with MS, 18 with monoADS), with each participant providing at least two samples.
  • DNA sequencing of stool-derived microbial communities.
  • Statistical analysis of alpha and beta diversities, and genus-level taxa abundance, comparing repeated samples within individuals.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were observed in overall gut microbiota alpha or beta diversity between repeated stool samples within individuals (p > 0.09).
  • A single genus, *Solobacterium*, showed a statistically significant change in abundance across repeated samples (p = 0.001).
  • The mean age at first sample collection was 18.0 years for MS and 13.8 years for monoADS, with median intervals of 11.2 and 10.3 months between samples.

Conclusions:

  • The gut microbiota composition in pediatric-onset MS and monoADS demonstrates considerable stability over time.
  • The observed stability suggests that a single stool sample is a reliable method for initial gut microbiome profiling in these pediatric neurological conditions.
  • These findings support the use of single-sample collection for initial gut microbiome assessments, simplifying research and diagnostic procedures.
Abstract

Keywords:
Multiple sclerosisdemyelinating diseasegut microbiotamonophasic acquired demyelinating syndromepaediatricstability

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