Gut microbiome in Down syndrome

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 11;9(11):e112023. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112023. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Background: Premature aging seriously compromises the health status of Down Syndrome (DS) persons. Since human aging has been associated with a deterioration of the gut microbiota (GM)-host mutualism, here we investigated the composition of GM in DS.

Methods: The observational study presented involved 17 adult DS persons. We characterized the GM structure by 454 pyrosequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. DS microbiome was compared with that of age-matched healthy non-trisomic adults enrolled in the same geographic area.

Results and conclusions: The dominant GM fraction of DS persons showed an overall mutualistic immune-modulatory layout, comparable to that of healthy controls. This makes GM a possible factor counteracting the genetic determined acceleration of immune senescence in DS persons. However, we also found detectable signatures specific for DS among subdominant GM components, such as the increase of Parasporobacterium and Sutterella. In particular, the abundance of this last microorganism significantly correlated with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) total score, allowing us to hypothesize a possible role for this microbial genus in behavioral features in DS.

Publication types

  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aging*
  • Down Syndrome / microbiology*
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2011) under grant agreement n. 259679 (IDEAL), and the Italian Ministry of Health, Progetto Ricerca Finalizzata 2008, convenzione 35: “An integrated approach to identify functional, biochemical and genetic markers for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in the elderly, in the centenarians and in people with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment” to CF. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.