AUTHOR=Yao Shanshan , Xie Huijia , Wang Ya , Shen Nan , Chen Qionglei , Zhao Yiting , Gu Qilu , Zhang Junmei , Liu Jiaming , Sun Jing , Tong Qiuling 

TITLE=Predictive microbial feature analysis in patients with depression after acute ischemic stroke

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2023.1116065

DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2023.1116065

ISSN=1663-4365

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most common emotional problem following a stroke, which requires early diagnosis to improve the prognosis. Gut microbiota plays important role in the pathological mechanisms of acute ischemic stroke and influences the outcome of patients. However, the relationship between PSD and gut microbiota remains unknown. Here, we explored whether the microbial signatures of gut microbiota in the patients with stroke could be an appropriate predictor of PSD.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Fecal samples were collected from 232 acute ischemic stroke patients and determined by 16s rRNA sequencing. All patients then received 17-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) assessment 3 months after discharge, and were further divided into PSD group and non-PSD group. We analyzed the differences of gut microbiota between these groups. To identify gut microbial biomarkers, we then established microbial biomarker model.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Our results showed that the composition of gut microbiota in the PSD patients differed significantly from that in non-PSD patients. The genus <italic>Streptococcus</italic>, <italic>Akkermansia</italic>, and <italic>Barnesiella</italic> were significantly increased in PSD patients compared to non-PSD, while the genus <italic>Escherichia-Shigella, Butyricicoccus</italic>, and <italic>Holdemanella</italic> were significantly decreased. Correlation analyses displayed that <italic>Akkermansia, Barnesiella</italic>, and <italic>Pyramidobacter</italic> were positively correlated with HAMD score, while <italic>Holdemanella</italic> was negatively correlated with HAMD score. The optimal microbial markers were determined, and the combination achieved an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.705 to distinguish PSD from non-PSD.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Our findings suggest that PSD patients had distinct gut microbiota compared to non-PSD patients, and explore the potential of microbial markers, which might provide clinical decision-making in PSD.</p></sec>