Gut microbial dysbiosis is associated with allergen-specific IgE responses in young children with airway allergies

Chih-Yung Chiu; Yi-Ling Chan; Ming-Han Tsai; Chia-Jung Wang; Meng-Han Chiang; Chun-Che Chiu

doi:10.1016/j.waojou.2019.100021

Gut microbial dysbiosis is associated with allergen-specific IgE responses in young children with airway allergies

World Allergy Organ J. 2019 Mar 25;12(3):100021. doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2019.100021. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Chih-Yung Chiu^{1

2}, Yi-Ling Chan^{3

4}, Ming-Han Tsai¹, Chia-Jung Wang¹, Meng-Han Chiang⁵, Chun-Che Chiu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
² Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁴ Clinical Informatics and Medical Statistics Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁵ Clinical Metabolomics Core Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background: There is increasing evidence linking alterations of the gut microbial composition during early infancy to the development of atopic diseases and asthma. However, few studies have addressed the association of dysbiotic gut microbiota with allergic reactions through evaluation of feces in young children with allergic airway diseases.

Methods: We sought to evaluate relationships among gut microbiota, total fecal immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, serum allergic sensitization, and their relevance to childhood allergic rhinitis and asthma. Microbial composition and diversity were analyzed with Illumina-based 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 89 stool samples collected from children with asthma (n = 35) and allergic rhinitis (n = 28), and from healthy controls (n = 26). Data analysis was performed using Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) software.

Results: A significantly lower abundance of organisms of the phylum Firmicutes were found in children with asthma and allergic rhinitis than in the healthy controls. Relatively lower Chao1 and Shannon indices were also found in children with allergic airway diseases but without any significant difference. Total fecal IgE levels in early childhood were strongly correlated with serum D. pteronyssinus- and D. farinae-specific IgE but not with food-specific IgE levels. In comparison with healthy controls, the genus Dorea was less abundant and negatively correlated with total fecal IgE levels in children with rhinitis, whereas the genus Clostridium was abundant and positively correlated with fecal IgE levels in children with asthma.

Conclusions: An interaction between particular subsets of gut microbial dysbiosis and IgE-mediated responses to allergens may contribute to the susceptibility to allergic rhinitis and asthma in early childhood.

Keywords: Asthma; Clostridium spp.; Dorea spp.; Fecal IgE; Gut microbiota; IgE, immunoglobulin E; OTUs, Operational taxonomic Units; QIIME, Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology.