Altered gut microbiota in temporal lobe epilepsy with anxiety disorders

Shouchao Wei; Yingren Mai; Li Hu; Ruxing Zheng; Dongming Zheng; Wenrong Chen; Yan Cai; Junjun Wang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1165787

Altered gut microbiota in temporal lobe epilepsy with anxiety disorders

Front Microbiol. 2023 May 22:14:1165787. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1165787. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shouchao Wei^{1

2}, Yingren Mai^{1

3}, Li Hu⁴, Ruxing Zheng¹, Dongming Zheng¹, Wenrong Chen¹, Yan Cai¹, Junjun Wang^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Central People's Hospital of Zhanjiang, Zhanjiang, China.
² Zhanjiang Institute of Clinical Medicine, Central People's Hospital of Zhanjiang, Zhanjiang, China.
³ Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
⁴ Department of Histology and Embryology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
⁵ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with epilepsy are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of anxiety disorders. In particular, temporal lobe epilepsy with anxiety disorders (TLEA) has attracted more attention in epilepsy research. The link between intestinal dysbiosis and TLEA has not been established yet. To gain deeper insight into the link between gut microbiota dysbiosis and factors affecting TLEA, the composition of the gut microbiome, including bacteria and fungi, has been examined.

Methods: The gut microbiota from 51 temporal lobe epilepsy patients has been subjected to sequencing targeting 16S rDNA (Illumina MiSeq) and from 45 temporal lobe epilepsy patients targeting the ITS-1 region (through pyrosequencing). A differential analysis has been conducted on the gut microbiota from the phylum to the genus level.

Results: TLEA patients' gut bacteria and fungal microbiota exhibited distinct characteristics and diversity as evidenced by high-throughput sequencing (HTS). TLEA patients showed higher abundances of Escherichia-Shigella (genus), Enterobacterales (order), Enterobacteriaceae (family), Proteobacteria (phylum), Gammaproteobacteria (class), and lower abundances of Clostridia (class), Firmicutes, Lachnospiraceae (family), Lachnospirales (order), and Ruminococcus (genus). Among fungi, Saccharomycetales fam. incertae sedis (family), Saccharomycetales (order), Saccharomycetes (class), and Ascomycota (phylum) were significantly more abundant in TLEA patients than in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy but without anxiety. Adoption and perception of seizure control significantly affected TLEA bacterial community structure, while yearly hospitalization frequency affected fungal community structures in TLEA patients.

Conclusion: Here, our study validated the gut microbiota dysbiosis of TLEA. Moreover, the pioneering study of bacterial and fungal microbiota profiles will help in understanding the course of TLEA and drive us toward preventing TLEA gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Keywords: anxiety disorder; bacteria; fungi; gut microbiota; temporal lobe epilepsy patient.

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the Doctoral Cooperation Project of Central People's Hospital of Zhanjiang (No. 2021H03), the GuangDong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A151515010827), and the Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau of Guangdong Province (No. 20221444).