Changes in Gut Microbiome Taxonomic Composition and Еheir Relationship to Biosynthetic and Metabolic Pathways of B Vitamins in Children with Multiple Sclerosis

• Published in: Journal of evolutionary biochemistry and physiology 2024, Vol.60 (1), p.114-135
• Main Authors: Abdurasulova, I. N., Chernyavskaya, E. A., Ivanov, A. B., Nikitina, V. A., Lioudyno, V. I., Nartova, A. A., Matsulevich, A. V., Skripchenko, E. Yu, Bisaga, G. N., Ulyantsev, V. I., Dmitriev, A. V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Animal Physiology; Autoimmune diseases; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Central nervous system; Children; Demyelinating diseases; Demyelination; Digestive system; Evolutionary Biology; Experimental Papers; Genomes; Intestinal microflora; Life Sciences; Metabolic pathways; Metabolism; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Multiple sclerosis; rRNA 16S; Taxonomy; Variable region
• ISSN: 0022-0930; 1608-3202
• DOI: 10.1134/S0022093024010095

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by progressive demyelination, leading to the death of neurons in the central nervous system. Although the disease typically manifests itself in people aged 20–40 years, recent years have witnessed a rising incidence of early-onset MS. We assume that this may be due to the peculiarities of the gut microbiota taxonomic composition and its ability to produce B vitamins. This work was aimed to reveal changes in the gut microbiome composition in the onset of multiple sclerosis in children and adults, and to assess the potential of the gut microbiome to synthesise and metabolise B vitamins. The study included 15 children (aged 9–17 years) and 15 adults with MS manifested in childhood, as well as 14 adults over 35 years of age with MS duration less than one year. The gut microbiome composition was identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina platform with universal primers for the 16S rRNA V3–V4 variable region. The PICRUSt algorithm using the KEGG reference genome database was applied to predict the presence of B vitamin metabolic pathways in the gut microbiome. In the onset of MS, children exhibited specific microbiome changes different from those in adults, which included a decrease in alpha diversity, as well as a reduction in the dominant phyla and an increase in p_Verrucomicrobiota and p_Mycoplasmatota , accompanied by a decrease in the number of bacterial genes involved in metabolic and biosynthetic pathways of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B12. These changes may relate to the early manifestation of MS symptoms in children. Our findings accentuate the importance of further investigating the impact of the gut microbiome and its metabolic potential on MS development and progression, especially in childhood, and may contribute to the development of more effective methods to treat and prevent demyelinating diseases.