Correlation of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder with food intolerance, inflammatory factors and oxidative stress

ZHANG Yangyang; LI Bolin; FENG Pengya; ZHENG Ruijuan; LI Hang; QIU Chunjing; ZHAO Yonghong; LI Enyao

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-0736

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2025, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (1) : 18-26. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-0736

Correlation of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder with food intolerance, inflammatory factors and oxidative stress

ZHANG Yangyang¹, LI Bolin², FENG Pengya^1,3, ZHENG Ruijuan¹, LI Hang³, QIU Chunjing³, ZHAO Yonghong¹, LI Enyao¹

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Abstract

Objective To analyze the changes in antioxidant enzymes, inflammatory cytokines, intestinal barrier function, and gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and food intolerance (FI), in order to explore the correlation of intestinal flora with the degree of FI, antioxidant enzymes, inflammatory cytokines, and intestinal barrier function in ASD children. Methods A total of 65 ASD children who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the Children's Rehabilitation Department of the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from August 2023 to June 2024 were selected in this study. The ASD children were divided into the FI group (35 cases) and the non-FI group (N-FI, 30 cases) based on FI test results. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and IL-10, antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and intestinal mucosal barrier markers D-lactic acid (D-LA), diamine oxidase (DAO), and occludin. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing was used to detect the distribution of intestinal flora in patient feces. Results The levels of serum IL-6, IL-1β, D-LA, and DAO in the FI group were significantly higher than those in the N-FI group (t=2.815, 2.622, 2.878, 2.049, P<0.05), while the levels of IL-10, CAT, SOD, and occludin were significantly lower than those in the N-FI group (t=-2.335, -2.812, -2.526, -2.170, P<0.05). At the genus level, the abundances of Faecalibacterium, Halomonas, and Fusicatenibacter in the FI group were significantly higher than those in the N-FI group, while the abundances of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides were significantly lower. Pearson correlation analysis showed that in the FI group, Bifidobacterium was negatively correlated with egg yolk/egg white IgG antibody levels (r=0.532); [Ruminococcus]_torques_group was positively correlated with milk IgG antibody levels (r=0.760); [Eubacterium]_eligens_group was positively correlated with IL-10 (r=0.662) and SOD (r=0.536), UBA1819 was positively correlated with SOD (r=0.574), [Ruminococcus]_torques_group was positively correlated with D-LA (r=0.692) and IL-1β (r=0.488), and Bifidobacterium was negatively correlated with occludin (r=-0.488,P<0.05). Conclusions There are differences in intestinal flora between ASD children with FI and those without FI, and the abundance of intestinal flora is correlated with FI antibody levels, inflammation, oxidative stress, and intestinal barrier function. Targeting intestinal flora may enhance FI treatment and effectively improve the condition of ASD children.

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autism spectrum disorder / food intolerance / inflammatory cytokines / oxidative stress / gut microbiota

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ZHANG Yangyang, LI Bolin, FENG Pengya, ZHENG Ruijuan, LI Hang, QIU Chunjing, ZHAO Yonghong, LI Enyao. Correlation of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder with food intolerance, inflammatory factors and oxidative stress[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2025, 33(1): 18-26 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2024-0736

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