Abstract
Evidence is mounting that the gut microbiome is related to the underlying pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, effects of amisulpride on gut microbiota are poorly defined. This study was aimed at analyzing cytokines and fecal microbiota in patients with exacerbated symptoms of schizophrenia treated with amisulpride during four weeks of their hospital stay. In the present study, feces collected from patients with schizophrenia were analyzed using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and bioinformatic analyses to ascertain gut microbiome composition and fasting peripheral blood cytokines. We found that patients undergoing treatment of schizophrenia with amisulpride had distinct changes in gut microbial composition at the genus level, increased levels of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria (Dorea and Butyricicoccus), and reduced levels of pathogenic bacteria (Actinomyces and Porphyromonas), but the level of Desulfovibrio was still high. We also found a significant downregulation of butanoate metabolism based on functional analysis of the microbiome. After treatment, elevated levels of interleukin- (IL-) 4 and decreased levels of IL-6 were found. Our findings extend prior work and suggest a possible pharmacological mechanism of amisulpride treatment for schizophrenia, which acts via mediation of the gut microbiome.
Highlights
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a psychiatric disease associated with psychosis, thought disorders, alterations in drive, volition, and neurocognition, affecting approximately 0.5% to 1.0% of the population worldwide, while the prevalence of SCZ is 5.44 per 1000 in China [1]
Shreds of evidence show that the gut microbiome may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of SCZ, and the pathophysiology involved in SCZ may be regulated via the “microbiota-gut-brain” (MGB) axis [2, 3]
In terms of alpha diversity, we found that the difference in operational taxonomic units (OTUs) between amisulpride treatment before and after was not statistically significant (Figure 1(a))
Summary
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a psychiatric disease associated with psychosis, thought disorders, alterations in drive, volition, and neurocognition, affecting approximately 0.5% to 1.0% of the population worldwide, while the prevalence of SCZ is 5.44 per 1000 in China [1]. Fecal microbiota transplantation techniques have been used to explore the mechanism of SCZ, including whether the gut microbiome of patients with SCZ modulates neurochemistry and neurologic functioning in rodents. These techniques demonstrated that the gut microbiome. The effect of amisulpride on gut microbiota has not been investigated in patients with schizophrenia, including whether the pharmacological mechanism of amisulpride treatment for SCZ acts via meditation of the gut microbiome. The present study was aimed at investigating the microbiota composition of fecal samples as well as blood cytokines measured in a cohort of inpatients with SCZ who had acute exacerbated symptoms; the cohort’s dietary intake and exposure to environmental factors were kept constant. The cohort was comprised of acutely exacerbated inpatients with SCZ, who were followed up for four weeks during amisulpride treatment
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