Gut microbiota changes are associated with abnormal metabolism activity in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and disabling psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts or repetitive behaviors. We sought to better understand the structure of gut microbiota in first visit registration, treatment-naive children and adolescents with OCD, and the relationship between gut microbiota and fecal metabolites. Thus we studied the gut microbial population using 16 S rRNA sequencing in 49 children (8-17 years of age) with OCD, 42 healthy controls (HCs). We found a significant decrease in α-diversity in the OCD group, and the OCD and HC groups had distinctive intestinal flora. To further investigate the potential interaction effects between OCD and functional pathways of the intestinal flora, the 19 OCD patients and 18 aged-matched HCs were selected to undergo metagenomics analysis. We showed that several functional pathways of gut microbiota in patients with OCD were disrupted, such as glucolipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, steroid biosynthesis, and the second messenger system. Changes in the clinical characteristics of OCD patients were associated with specific bacteria. Metabolomics analysis was also performed on stool samples from 91 subjects. Intestinal microflora metabolite expression in OCD patients was disturbed, and the related metabolic pathway functions were abnormal. Abnormal metabolites of gut microbiota in OCD patients are mainly involved in folate biosynthesis, the prion disease pathway, and the amino acid metabolic network. This study detailed the intestinal microbiota of children and adolescents with OCD. Our study suggests possible modalities for early OCD intervention by targeting the specific bacteria associated with neurotransmitter metabolism.