Association Between Abundance of Haemophilus in the Gut Microbiota and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Increasing evidence indicates an interaction between dysbiosis of the microbiota and the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, limited information is available on the specific microbial communities associated with symptoms of schizophrenia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate gut microbiota dysbiosis and its relationship with psychopathologies in schizophrenia. We recruited 126 participants and divided them into three groups according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria—acute group (patients with acute schizophrenia), remission group (patients with schizophrenia in remission), and control group (healthy controls). Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Microbiota compositions, diversity and community structure were evaluated using 16S rRNA sequencing. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to evaluate the association between bacterial taxa and psychotic symptoms. The beta-diversity of microbiota composition in the acute group was distinct from that in the remission and control groups (PC1 = 21.11% vs. PC2 = 12.86%, P = 0.021). Furthermore, Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that abundance of Haemophilus was positively correlated with negative psychiatric symptoms (r = 0.303, P = 0.021), while abundance of Coprococcus was negatively correlated with negative psychiatric symptoms (r = −0.285, P = 0.025). Moreover, abundance of Haemophilus was positively correlated with cognition (r = 0.428, P = 0.009), excitement (r = 0.266, P = 0.037), and depression (r = 0.295, P = 0.020). The study findings suggest that alterations in certain gut microbiota may interfere with psychological symptoms in schizophrenia. Our results provide evidence that may help in the development of therapeutic strategies using microbial-based targets. The data that support the findings of this study have been deposited in the NCBI (https://submit.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) with accession number SUB9453991.

Consensus on potential biomarkers developed for use in clinical tests for schizophrenia

“… 127 Furthermore, the gut microbiota has been shown to differentiate between acute schizophrenia and remission. 128 …”

“…In addition, Lachnospiraceae has been associated with chronic schizophrenia 127. Furthermore, the gut microbiota has been shown to differentiate between acute schizophrenia and remission 128…”

“…127 Furthermore, the gut microbiota has been shown to differentiate between acute schizophrenia and remission. 128 Few gut microbiota have been linked to clinical symptoms. For instance, Ruminococcaceae is negatively correlated with the severity of negative symptoms, whereas Bacteroides is positively correlated with depressive symptoms.…”

Gut microbiome in schizophrenia and antipsychotic-induced metabolic alterations: a scoping review

“…Furthermore, the abundance of Haemophilus was positively correlated with negative symptoms, cognition, excitement, and depression, whereas Coprococcus was found to be negatively correlated with negative symptoms. 69 In line with this, Pan et al 76 have reported that compared with acute SCZ, remission SCZ patients had increased abundances of family Clostridiaceae-1 and genus Clostridium sensu-stricto-1 and unclassified family Peptostreptococcaceae . 76 Moreover, there was positive correlation between Succinivibrio abundance and total and general Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) scores, while Corynebacterium was negatively correlated with the negative scores of PANSS.…”

“… 67 , 68 SCZ patients also showed increased serum and fecal concentrations of SCFAs, which was negatively correlated with cognitive function. Patients with higher circulating SCFAs showed immune activation evidenced by increased CRP, IL-6, soluble IL-2R, and sCD14 in Zhu et al 60 , 69 …”