Multi-level analysis of the gut–brain axis shows autism spectrum disorder-associated molecular and microbial profiles

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by heterogeneous cognitive, behavioral and communication impairments. Disruption of the gut-brain axis (GBA) has been implicated in ASD although with limited reproducibility across studies. In this study, we developed a Bayesian differential ranking algorithm to identify ASD-associated molecular and taxa profiles across 10 cross-sectional microbiome datasets and 15 other datasets, including dietary patterns, metabolomics, cytokine profiles and human brain gene expression profiles. We found a functional architecture along the GBA that correlates with heterogeneity of ASD phenotypes, and it is characterized by ASD-associated amino…

• W
  Wellcome

  Award: WT206194
• TP
  Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
• WT
  Wellcome Trust

  Award: WT206194
• EC
  European Commission

  Award: 101001355
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 82071733, 82071733)
• IS
  Israel Science Foundation

  Award: 818/17
• NI
  National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• EK
  Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development