RESUMEN
Gastrointestinal disturbances are commonly reported in children with autism, complicate clinical management, and may contribute to behavioral impairment. Reports of deficiencies in disaccharidase enzymatic activity and of beneficial responses to probiotic and dietary therapies led us to survey gene expression and the mucoepithelial microbiota in intestinal biopsies from children with autism and gastrointestinal disease and children with gastrointestinal disease alone. Ileal transcripts encoding disaccharidases and hexose transporters were deficient in children with autism, indicating impairment of the primary pathway for carbohydrate digestion and transport in enterocytes. Deficient expression of these enzymes and transporters was associated with expression of the intestinal transcription factor, CDX2. Metagenomic analysis of intestinal bacteria revealed compositional dysbiosis manifest as decreases in Bacteroidetes, increases in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, and increases in Betaproteobacteria. Expression levels of disaccharidases and transporters were associated with the abundance of affected bacterial phylotypes. These results indicate a relationship between human intestinal gene expression and bacterial community structure and may provide insights into the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disturbances in children with autism.
Asunto(s)
Trastorno Autístico/metabolismo , Trastorno Autístico/microbiología , Metabolismo de los Hidratos de Carbono , Digestión , Enfermedades Gastrointestinales/metabolismo , Enfermedades Gastrointestinales/microbiología , Mucosa Intestinal/microbiología , Trastorno Autístico/complicaciones , Trastorno Autístico/fisiopatología , Transporte Biológico/genética , Metabolismo de los Hidratos de Carbono/genética , Preescolar , Clostridium/genética , Clostridium/aislamiento & purificación , Clostridium/fisiología , Comorbilidad , Digestión/genética , Femenino , Hipersensibilidad a los Alimentos/complicaciones , Hipersensibilidad a los Alimentos/genética , Hipersensibilidad a los Alimentos/microbiología , Enfermedades Gastrointestinales/complicaciones , Enfermedades Gastrointestinales/fisiopatología , Humanos , Íleon/metabolismo , Lactante , Mucosa Intestinal/metabolismo , Mucosa Intestinal/patología , Mucosa Intestinal/fisiopatología , Masculino , Proteínas de Transporte de Membrana/genética , Metagenómica , ARN Bacteriano/genética , ARN Mensajero/genética , ARN Mensajero/metabolismo , ARN Ribosómico 16S/genética , Factores de Tiempo , TranscriptomaRESUMEN
Ixodes scapularis ticks are clinically important hematophagous vectors. A single tick bite can lead to a polymicrobial infection. We determined the prevalence of polymicrobial infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Powassan virus in 286 adult ticks from the two counties in New York State where Lyme disease is endemic, utilizing a MassTag multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay. Seventy-one percent of the ticks harbored at least one organism; 30% had a polymicrobial infection. Infections with three microbes were detected in 5% of the ticks. One tick was infected with four organisms. Our results show that coinfection is a frequent occurrence in ticks in the two counties surveyed.