Annabelle M Watts; Nicholas West; Ping Zhang; Peter Smith; Allan Cripps; Amanda Cox
Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2020 Sep 24;1-12. doi: 10.1159/000510536. Online ahead of print.
The gut microbiota has an essential role in the development and regulation of local and systemic immunity. Allergic rhinitis, such as various immune-mediated conditions, has been associated with abnormal gut microbial colonization patterns in children; however, there is not enough data regarding adults. This study aimed to compare the gastrointestinal composition between adults and children who suffer from allergic rhinitis.
This was a cross-sectional study that included 57 adults with allergic rhinitis and 23 healthy controls. Investigators compared samples of their stools via next-generation sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Investigators used a reference-based approach with the NCBI database to taxonomic classification and identity approach.
Participants with allergic rhinitis had a significant reduction in species richness. They also had declines in operational taxonomic unit counts and diversity indices. In contrast, they had significantly more Bacteroidetes than healthy controls, as well as an increased abundance of Parabacteroides and a reduced abundance of Oxalobacter and Clostriadiales.
Adults with allergic rhinitis have a different gut microbiome than healthy controls, with reduced microbial diversity and altered abundance of some microbes. Identifying the metabolites and mechanisms underlying the relationship microbiota-host will improve how the gut microbiome composition regulates immunity and may be of interest to potential therapeutic options for allergies.
