Children with idiopathic short stature have significantly different gut microbiota than their normal height siblings: a case-control study

ObjectivesTo investigate the role of gut microbiota (GM) in pathogenesis of idiopathic short stature (ISS) by comparing GM of ISS children to their normal-height siblings.MethodsThis case-control study, conducted at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center’s Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes between 4/2018-11/2020, involved 30 pairs of healthy pre-pubertal siblings aged 3-10 years, each comprising one sibling with ISS and one with normal height. Outcome measures from fecal analysis of both siblings included GM composition analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing, fecal metabolomics, and monitoring the growth of germ-free (GF) mice after fecal transplantation.ResultsFecal analysis of ISS children identified higher predicted levels of genes encoding enzymes for pyrimidine, purine, flavin, coenzyme B, and thiamine biosynthesis, lower levels of several amino acids, and a significantly higher prevalence of the phylum Euryarchaeota compared to their normal-height siblings (p