Gut microbiota of adults with asthma is broadly similar to non-asthmatics in a large population with varied ethnic origins

Robert F J Kullberg; Bastiaan W Haak; Mahmoud I Abdel-Aziz; Mark Davids; Floor Hugenholtz; Max Nieuwdorp; Henrike Galenkamp; Maria Prins; Anke H Maitland-van der Zee; W Joost Wiersinga

doi:10.1080/19490976.2021.1995279

Gut microbiota of adults with asthma is broadly similar to non-asthmatics in a large population with varied ethnic origins

Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1995279. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1995279.

Authors

Robert F J Kullberg^{1

2}, Bastiaan W Haak^{1

2}, Mahmoud I Abdel-Aziz³, Mark Davids², Floor Hugenholtz^{1

2}, Max Nieuwdorp^{2

4

5

6}, Henrike Galenkamp⁷, Maria Prins^{8

9}, Anke H Maitland-van der Zee³, W Joost Wiersinga^{1

2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine (CEMM), Amsterdam University Medical Centers - Location Amc, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
² Microbiota Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Medical Centers - Location Amc, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers - Location Amc, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁴ Amsterdam Diabetes Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Academic Medical Center, Vu University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵ Wallenberg Laboratory, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁶ Department of Vascular Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers - Location Amc, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Infectious Diseases, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam University Medical Centers - Location Amc, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Bacterial gut communities might predispose children to develop asthma. Yet, little is known about the role of these micro-organisms in adult asthmatics. We aimed to profile the relationship between fecal microbiota and asthma in a large-scale, ethnically diverse, observational cohort of adults. Fecal microbiota composition of 1632 adults (172 asthmatics and 1460 non-asthmatics) was analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Using extremely randomized trees machine learning models, we assessed the discriminatory ability of gut bacterial features to identify asthmatics from non-asthmatics. Asthma contributed 0.019% to interindividual dissimilarities in intestinal microbiota composition, which was not significant (P = .97). Asthmatics could not be distinguished from non-asthmatics based on individual microbiota composition by an extremely randomized trees classifier model (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.54). In conclusion, there were no prominent differences in fecal microbiota composition in adult asthmatics when compared to non-asthmatics in an urban, large-sized and ethnically diverse cohort.

Keywords: Asthma; HELIUS study; adults; bacterial community composition; ethnicity; gastrointestinal tract; microbiome.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Asthma / ethnology
Asthma / immunology
Asthma / microbiology*
Bacteria / classification
Bacteria / genetics
Bacteria / isolation & purification*
Cohort Studies
Feces / microbiology
Female
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Netherlands / ethnology
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) under VIDI grant 91716475 to WJW. The HELIUS study is conducted by the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location AMC and the Public Health Service of Amsterdam. Both organizations provided core support for HELIUS. The HELIUS study is also funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation under Grant 2010T084; the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development under Grant 200500003; the European Union FP-7 under Grant 278901; and the European Fund for the Integration of non-EU immigrants under Grant 2013EIF013. We are most grateful to the participants of the HELIUS study and the management team, research nurses, interviewers, research assistants and other staff who have taken part in gathering the data of this study. The funding sources had no involvement in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.