Altered fecal microbiota composition in individuals who abuse methamphetamine

Abstract

Abstract As a severe public health problem, methamphetamine (METH) abuse places a heavy burden on families and society. A growing amount of evidence has indicated communication between gut microbiota and the CNS in drug addiction, with associations to neural, endocrine and immune pathways. Thus, we searched for alterations in the gut microbiota and their potential effects in METH users through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A decreased Shannon index indicated lower bacterial diversity in the METH users than in the age-matched control group. The gut microbial community composition in the METH users was also altered, including reductions in Deltaproteobacteria and Bacteroidaceae abundances and increases in Sphingomonadales, Xanthomonadales, Romboutsia and Lachnospiraceae abundances. Moreover, the Fusobacteria abundance was correlated with the duration of METH use. Enterobacteriaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium had statistically significant correlations with items related to the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and to general psychopathology in the METH users, and all have previously been reported to be altered in individuals with psychotic syndromes, especially depression. Abstraction, one of the items of the cognitive assessment, was positively related to Blautia. These findings revealed alterations in the gut microbiota of METH users, and these alterations may play a role in psychotic syndrome and cognitive impairment. Although the mechanisms behind the links between these disorders and METH abuse are unknown, the relationships may indicate similarities in the pathogenesis of psychosis induced by METH abuse and other causes, providing a new paradigm for addiction and METH use disorder treatment.