PURPOSE:
The
roles of
gut microbiota on the natural
course of
atopic dermatitis (AD) are not yet fully understood. We investigated whether the composition and function of
gut microbiota and
short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) at 6 months of age could
affect the natural
course of AD up to 24 months in early childhood.
METHODS:
Fecal samples from 132
infants were analyzed using
pyrosequencing, including 84 healthy controls, 22
transient AD and 26 persistent AD subjects from the Cohort for Childhood Origin of
Asthma and Allergic
Diseases (COCOA)
birth cohort. The functional profile of the
gut microbiome was analyzed by whole-
metagenome sequencing. SCFAs were measured using
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
RESULTS:
Low levels of
Streptococcus and high amounts of
Akkermansia were evident in
transient AD cases, and low
Clostridium,
Akkermansia and high
Streptococcus were found in
children with persistent AD. The relative abundance of
Streptococcus positively correlated with scoring of AD (SCORAD) score, whereas that of
Clostridium negatively correlated with SCORAD score. The persistent AD group showed decreased gut microbial functional
genes related to
oxidative phosphorylation compared with healthy controls.
Butyrate and
valerate levels were lower in
transient AD
infants compared with healthy and persistent AD
infants.
CONCLUSIONS:
Compositions, functions and metabolites of the early
gut microbiome are related to natural
courses of AD in
infants.