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Cited by 267Gut microbiota and healthEating Disorders and BehaviorsGastrointestinal motility and disorders

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 71 of the 71 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Microbiota in anorexia nervosa: The triangle between bacterial species, metabolites and psychological tests

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Borgo, Francesca, Riva, Alessandra, Benetti, Alberto, Casiraghi, Maria Cristina, Bertelli, Sara, Garbossa, Stefania, Anselmetti, Simona, Scarone, Silvio, Pontiroli, Antonio E., Morace, Giulia, Borghi, Elisa·2017·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0179739PMC PMC5479564
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Abstract

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disease with devastating physical consequences, with a pathophysiological mechanism still to be elucidated. Metagenomic studies on anorexia nervosa have revealed profound gut microbiome perturbations as a possible environmental factor involved in the disease. In this study we performed a comprehensive analysis integrating data on gut microbiota with clinical, anthropometric and psychological traits to gain new insight in the pathophysiology of AN. Fifteen AN women were compared with fifteen age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched healthy controls. AN diet was characterized by a significant lower energy intake, but macronutrient analysis highlighted a restriction only in fats and carbohydrates consumption. Next generation sequencing showed that AN intestinal microbiota was significantly affected at every taxonomic level, showing a significant increase of Enterobacteriaceae, and of the archeon Methanobrevibacter smithii compared with healthy controls. On the contrary, the genera Roseburia, Ruminococcus and Clostridium, were depleted, in line with the observed reduction in AN of total short chain fatty acids, butyrate, and propionate. Butyrate concentrations inversely correlated with anxiety levels, whereas propionate directly correlated with insulin levels and with the relative abundance of Roseburia inulinivorans, a known propionate producer. BMI represented the best predictive value for gut dysbiosis and metabolic alterations, showing a negative correlation with Bacteroides uniformis (microbiota), with alanine aminotransferase (liver function), and with psychopathological scores (obsession-compulsion, anxiety, and depression), and a positive correlation with white blood cells count. In conclusion, our findings corroborate the hypothesis that the gut dysbiosis could take part in the AN neurobiology, in particular in sustaining the persistence of alterations that eventually result in relapses after renourishment and psychological therapy, but causality still needs to be proven.

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Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0179739

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Fig 1 Relative abundance of common microbial taxa. Bar charts showing the relative abundance of the most represented microbial taxa, defined as having a mean relative abundance of >1%, in stool samples of anorexia nervosa (AN, n = 15) and control (CTR, n = 15) groups. Phylum-level (a) and family-level (b) taxon profiles are shown.
Fig 1 Relative abundance of common microbial taxa. Bar charts showing the relative abundance of the most represented microbial taxa, defined as having a mean relative abundance of >1%, in stool samples of anorexia nervosa (AN, n = 15) and control (CTR, n = 15) groups. Phylum-level (a) and family-level (b) taxon profiles are shown.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 2 Redundancy analysis (RDA) of gut microbiota. RDA shows a separation between anorexia nervosa (AN, red dots) and control (CTR, blue dots) subjects.
Fig 2 Redundancy analysis (RDA) of gut microbiota. RDA shows a separation between anorexia nervosa (AN, red dots) and control (CTR, blue dots) subjects.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 3 Distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA). Db-RDA plot shows correlations between gut microbiota composition and body mass index (BMI), insulin, propionate and butyrate. Only significant variables are represented (p>0.05, Permanova analysis). Arrows in the db-RDA biplot denote the magnitudes and directions of the variable effects. Controls are represented by blue dots and anorexic subjects by red dots.
Fig 3 Distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA). Db-RDA plot shows correlations between gut microbiota composition and body mass index (BMI), insulin, propionate and butyrate. Only significant variables are represented (p>0.05, Permanova analysis). Arrows in the db-RDA biplot denote the magnitudes and directions of the variable effects. Controls are represented by blue dots and anorexic subjects by red dots.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Authors
Borgo, F., Riva, A., Benetti, A., Casiraghi, M. C., Bertelli, S., Garbossa, S., Anselmetti, S., Scarone, S., Pontiroli, A. E., Morace, G., & Borghi, E.
Affiliations
  • University of Milan (IT)
  • Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Santi Paolo e Carlo (IT)
Corresponding author
Borghi, Elisa
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2017-06-21
Volume
12
Issue
6
Pages
e0179739
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0179739
PMC
PMC5479564
OpenAlex
W2687532560
Cited by
267
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 3
FWCI
9.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Università degli Studi di Milano
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
Keywords
anorexia nervosa, gut microbiota, gut dysbiosis, short-chain fatty acids, butyrate, propionate, Roseburia, Enterobacteriaceae, Methanobrevibacter smithii, Bacteroides uniformis, anxiety, depression, insulin, body mass index, caloric restriction, psychopathology, relapse
MeSH terms
Alanine Transaminase, Anorexia Nervosa, Anxiety Disorders, Aspartate Aminotransferases, Butyrates, Clostridium, Depressive Disorder, Diet, DNA, Bacterial, Fatty Acids, Volatile, Feces, Humans, Propionates, Psychological Tests, Body Mass Index, Case-Control Studies, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Gastrointestinal Tract, Ruminococcus, Microbiota, Dysbiosis

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