Behavioral and biological alterations following transplantation of ASD-associated gut microbiota in mice.
Overview
Abstract
Background: Alterations in the gut microbiota have been increasingly reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the extent to which ASD-associated microbial communities are linked to behavioral and host biological changes remains to be clarified.
Methods: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was performed using samples from children with ASD or typically developing (TD) controls into antibiotic-pretreated mice. Behavioral performance was evaluated using open field, social interaction, and spatial learning paradigms. Gut microbial composition was assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Peripheral immune-related parameters were assessed, including circulating regulatory T cells and serum cytokine profiles. Histological and molecular analyses were conducted in the terminal ileum and hippocampus, including immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, exploratory brain proteomics, and targeted qRT-PCR validation.
Results: Mice receiving ASD-associated microbiota displayed altered behavioral performance, including reduced sociability and impaired spatial learning. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed distinct gut microbial profiles between ASD-FMT and TD-FMT groups, with increased abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and related taxa in ASD-FMT mice. Peripheral analysis showed reduced regulatory T cell levels and altered serum cytokine profiles. Histological examination identified changes in intestinal architecture and increased expression of glial markers in the hippocampus. Proteomic analysis indicated differential expression of proteins enriched in pathways related to neural structural organization and metabolic processes.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that gut microbiota derived from children with ASD is associated with coordinated behavioral, peripheral immune-related, and brain histological changes in mice. This study provides integrative evidence supporting associations between ASD-associated microbial features and coordinated behavioral and biological alterations in the host.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
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Data
Datasets cited
- zenodo:17954992, at Zenodo; found in “Data Availability”
Data Availability
The following information was supplied regarding data availability:
The 16S rRNA sequencing data generated in this study is available at Zenodo: Gao, Y. (2025). 16S rRNA Sequencing Analysis of Intestinal Microbiota Structure in Mice After Fecal Microbiota Transplantation [Data set]. Zenodo. https://
The TMT-based proteomics data generated from mouse brain tissues in this study is available at iProx: IPX0013294000 (https://
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Versions
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Version 1, 30 September 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 4 authors, 4 keywords, 16 MeSH terms, 44 references.
Cite
This paper
Gao, Y., Yang, D., Wang, D., & Maimaiti, R. (2026). Behavioral and biological alterations following transplantation of ASD-associated gut microbiota in mice. PeerJ, 14, e20951. https://
BibTeX
@article{gao2026behavior
author = {Gao, Yang and Yang, Dan and Wang, Danni and Maimaiti, Rena},
title = {{Behavioral and biological alterations following transplantation of ASD-associated gut microbiota in mice}},
journal = {PeerJ},
year = {2026},
month = mar,
volume = {14},
pages = {e20951},
publisher = {PeerJ, Inc},
issn = {2167-8359},
doi = {10.7717/
url = {https://
pmid = {41907468},
pmcid = {PMC13024247}
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Gao, Yang
AU - Yang, Dan
AU - Wang, Danni
AU - Maimaiti, Rena
TI - Behavioral and biological alterations following transplantation of ASD-associated gut microbiota in mice
T2 - PeerJ
J2 - PeerJ
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
VL - 14
SP - e20951
SN - 2167-8359
PB - PeerJ, Inc
DO - 10.7717/
UR - https://
LA - en
ER -
CSL-JSON
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