Identification of disordered profiles of gut microbiota and functional component in stroke and poststroke epilepsy

It is estimated that 11.5% of patients with stroke (STR) were at risk of suffering poststroke epilepsy (PSE) within 5 years. Gut microbiota is shown to affect health in humans by producing metabolites. The association between dysregulation of gut microbiota and STR/PSE remains unclear. The aim of this study was to identify potential gut microbiota and functional component in STR and PSE, which may provide a theoretical foundation for diagnosis and treatment of STR and PSE.

The fresh stool samples were collected from 19 healthy controls, 27 STR patients, and 20 PSE patients for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Analysis of amplicon sequence variant and community diversity was performed, followed by the identification of dominant species, species differences analysis, diagnostic, and functional analysis of species in STR and PSE.

Community diversity was decreased in STR and PSE. Some disordered profiles of gut microbiota in STR and PSE were identified, such as the increase of Enterococcus and the decrease of butyricicoccus in STR, the increase of Escherichia Shigella and Clostridium innocuum-group and the decrease of Faecalibacterium in PSE, and the decrease of Anaerostipes in both STR and PSE. Moreover, potential diagnostic biomarkers for STR (butyricicoccus), PSE (Faecalibacterium), STR, and PSE (NK4A214_group and Veillonella) were identified. Several significantly dysfunctional components were identified, including l-tryptophan biosynthesis in STR, fatty acid biosynthesis in PSE, and Stress_Tolerant and anaerobic in both STR and PSE.

The disturbed gut microbiota and related dysfunctional components are closely associated with the progression of STR and PSE.