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. 2023 Jan 17;11(2):240.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11020240.

The Association of the Oral Microbiota with the Effects of Acid Stress Induced by an Increase of Brain Lactate in Schizophrenia Patients

Wirginia Krzyściak  1 , Paulina Karcz  2 , Beata Bystrowska  3 , Marta Szwajca  4 , Amira Bryll  5 , Natalia Śmierciak  4 , Anna Ligęzka  1   6 , Aleksander Turek  4 , Tamas Kozicz  6 , Anna E Skalniak  7 , Paweł Jagielski  8 , Tadeusz J Popiela  5 , Maciej Pilecki  4
Affiliations

The Association of the Oral Microbiota with the Effects of Acid Stress Induced by an Increase of Brain Lactate in Schizophrenia Patients

Wirginia Krzyściak et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

The altered cerebral energy metabolism central to schizophrenia can be linked to lactate accumulation. Lactic acid is produced by gastrointestinal bacteria, among others, and readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, leading to the brain acidity. This study aimed to examine the association of the oral microbiota with the effects of acid stress induced by an increase of brain lactate in schizophrenia patients. The study included patients with a diagnosis of acute polyphasic psychotic disorder meeting criteria for schizophrenia at 3-month follow-up. Results: Individuals with a significantly higher total score on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale had statistically significantly lower lactate concentrations compared to those with a lower total score and higher brain lactate. We observed a positive correlation between Actinomyces and lactate levels in the anterior cingulate cap and a negative correlation between bacteria associated with lactate metabolism and some clinical assessment scales. Conclusions: Shifts in the oral microbiota in favour of lactate-utilising bacterial genera may represent a compensatory mechanism in response to increased lactate production in the brain. Assessment of neuronal function mediated by ALA-LAC-dependent NMDA regulatory mechanisms may, thus, support new therapies for schizophrenia, for which acidosis has become a differentiating feature of individuals with schizophrenia endophenotypes.

Keywords: brain lactate; oral microbiota; schizophrenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spectroscopic spectrum. LAC–lactate-derived signal, ALA—alanine. (A) - Endophenotype I, (B) - Endophenotype II, (C) - VOI location.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chromatograms of selected metabolites, alanine (ALA) and lactates (LAC) in peripheral blood by LC-ESI-MS/MS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Protocol for the Isolation and Identification of Oral Microbiota by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI-TOF MS).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prevalence of particular species of bacteria isolated from cheek and dorsal swabs of the tongue and saliva samples from patients with schizophrenia. A.v.—Actinomyces viscosus, P.sp.—Prevotella sp., N.spp.—Neisseria spp., B.c.—Bacillus circulans, B.b.—Brevibacillus brevis, N.ma.—Neisseria macacae, Sc.w.—Scardovia wiggsiae, A.g.—Actinomyces graevenitzii, S.sp.—Streptococcus sp., S.g.—Streptococcus gordonii, L.ac.—Lactobacillus acidophilus, V.sp.—Veilonella sp., N.f.—Neisseria flavescens, F.spp—Fusobacterium spp., L.sp.—Leptotrichia sp., S.mu.—Streptococcus mutans, A.na—Actinomyces naeslundi, L.r.—Lactobacillus rhamnosus, S.par.—Streptococcus parasanguinis, G.sp.—Gemella sp., S.san.—Streptococcus sanguinis, S.e.—Staphylococcus epidermidis, R.m.—Rothia mucilaginosa, P.ngs—Prevotella nigrescens, S.o.—Streptococcus oralis, S.mi—Streptococcus mitis, S.sal.—Streptococcus salivarius.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Relationship between Prevotella nigrescens (P.ngs) and the subjects’ Total score on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-T).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Relationship between Streptococcus salivarius (S.sal) and the subjects’ Hamilton scale score.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Relationship between Prevotella nigrescens (P.ngs) and the subjects’ score on the Hamilton scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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