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Published on: August 7, 2017
Gut Microbiome and Metabolomics Profiles of Allergic and Non-Allergic Childhood Asthma
Ping Zheng1, Kexing Zhang2, Xifang Lv1
1China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Insights
Altered gut bacteria and metabolites are linked to asthma in children. Distinct gut microbiome profiles in non-allergic asthma suggest a key role in disease development and phenotype modulation.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome Research
- Pediatric Asthma
- Metabolomics
Background:
- The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in immune system development and function.
- Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota has been implicated in various allergic diseases, including asthma.
- Understanding the specific alterations in gut bacteria and their metabolites in pediatric asthma is essential for developing targeted therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the characteristics of gut bacteria and their derived metabolites in children with allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma, and healthy controls.
- To identify specific microbial and metabolic signatures associated with different asthma phenotypes in children.
- To explore the potential role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis and modulation of asthma.
Main Methods:
- Fecal samples were collected from 57 children (20 healthy, 27 allergic asthmatic, 10 non-allergic asthmatic).
- 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to analyze gut bacterial composition.
- Untargeted metabolomics identified alterations in gut microbe-derived metabolites, with associations analyzed via Spearman correlation and multiple linear regression.
Main Results:
- Both allergic and non-allergic asthmatic children exhibited altered gut microbiome composition and metabolites compared to healthy controls.
- Asthma groups showed higher bacterial richness (Chao1 index) and lower diversity (Simpson index), with increased Proteobacteria and decreased Clostridia.
- Significant differences in metabolites were observed, with 42 associated with allergic asthma and 58 with non-allergic asthma; histamine was upregulated in non-allergic asthma, and Clostridia abundance correlated with lipid and tryptophan metabolism.
Conclusions:
- Altered gut microbes and their metabolites are associated with asthma mechanisms in both allergic and non-allergic pediatric asthma.
- The gut microbiome influences the development of both allergic and non-allergic asthma.
- Distinct gut microbiome and metabolite profiles in non-allergic asthma suggest a critical role in modulating asthma phenotype.
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of gut bacteria and the derived metabolites among allergic asthmatic children, non-allergic asthmatic children and healthy children without asthma.
Methods:
Fecal samples were collected from 57 participants, including 20 healthy children, 27 allergic asthmatic children, and 10 non-allergic asthmatic children. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was conducted for analyzing gut bacterial compositions and untargeted metabolomics was used to analyze the alterations of gut microbe-derived metabolites. The associations between gut bacterial compositions and metabolites were analyzed by the method of Spearman correlation.
Results:
The results showed that the compositions and metabolites of gut microbiome were altered both in allergic and non-allergic asthmatics compared with healthy controls. Chao1 (p = 0.025) index reflected a higher bacterial richness and Simpson (p = 0.024) index showed a lower diversity in asthma group. PERMANOVA analysis showed significant differences among the three groups based on unweighted UniFrac distance (p = 0.001). Both allergic and non-allergic asthmatics showed a higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria and a lower relative abundance of genera from Clostridia. More bacteria were altered in non-allergic asthmatics compared with allergic asthmatics. Metabolomics analysis identified that 42 metabolites were significantly associated with allergic asthma, and 58 metabolites were significantly associated with non-allergic asthma (multiple linear regression, p < 0.05). Histamine was 4 folds up-regulated only in the non-allergic asthma group. The relative abundance of Candidatus Accumulib was significantly correlated with the upregulation of histamine. The relative abundance of genera from Clostridia was significantly correlated with the downregulation of lipid and tryptophan metabolism.
Conclusion:
The altered gut microbes was associated with the mechanism of asthma attack through metabolites in allergic and non-allergic asthma group, respectively. The result suggested that gut microbiome had an impact on the development of both allergic and non-allergic asthma. The distinct gut microbiome and microbiome-derived metabolites in non-allergic asthma children suggested that gut microbiome might play a critical role in modulation of asthma phenotype.
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