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Effects of Dietary Fat Profile on Gut Microbiota in Valproate Animal Model of Autism

Jin-Peng Wang, Yang-chun Xu, Ji-Qiu Hou, Jia-yu Li, J. Xing, Bao-xia Yang, Ze-hui Zhang, Bei-Lin Zhang et al.

Frontiers in Medicine, 2020

15 citations

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability which may cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. Besides certain essential symptoms, a lot of ASD individuals also suffer the comorbidity of gut microbiota dysbiosis, which possibly causes a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) difficulties. Interestingly, evidence has indicated that behavioral output may be modulated through the communication between the central nervous system and gut microbiota via the gut-brain axis. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and n-3 fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) are structurally and functionally crucial components for the brain, and the state of n-3 PUFAs also affects the gut microbiota. However, how varying intake ratios of n-3/n6 PUFAs affect the gut microbiota composition in ASDs is not well-understood. Pregnant female Wistar rats with intraperitoneal administration of valproate acid (VPA) at embryonic day (E) 12.5 and their male offspring were grouped and fed three diets: a control chow (VPA group), omega-3 deficient (A group), and n-3/n6 (1:5) diet (B group). The diet of pregnant female Wistar rats with intraperitoneal administration of saline and their male offspring was a control chow (normal group). Microbial composition and species abundance were investigated accordingly by the 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomics analysis on the fecal samples. Results showed that fecal microbial abundance was decreased because of VPA administration in the period of pregnancy,…

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