Journal of Asthma and Allergy (May 2021)
Comparison of Gut Microbiota Between Infants with Atopic Dermatitis and Healthy Controls in Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Li Yu, Yu-Hong Deng, Yuan-Hui Huang, Hai-Jin Ke, Yong Guo, Jie-Ling Wu Department of Children’s Health Care, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jie-Ling Wu; Yong GuoDepartment of Children’s Health Care, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511400, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 20 39151521Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Evidence on the role of the gut microbiota in atopic dermatitis is inconsistent as human intestinal microbiota is influenced by geography. This cross-sectional study therefore aimed to compare differences in the gut microbiota of infants with atopic dermatitis and healthy infants in Guangzhou, China, by analyzing their stool.Patients and Methods: The composition of the intestinal microbiota was analyzed from the stool samples of 20 infants with atopic dermatitis (AD group) and 25 healthy infants (non-AD group) (1– 6 months old), using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the relative abundance of bacteria by phylum, family, genus, and species between groups; microbial community richness and diversity were compared between the two groups.Results: There were no significant differences in the microbial community richness and diversity between the two groups. At the phylum level, 11 bacterial phyla were found; most sequences belonged to one of the three dominant bacterial phyla – Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. The top 10 microbes at the phylum, family, and genus levels showed no significant changes in their composition within the gut microbiota between the AD and non-AD groups. A decrease in the ratio of the Streptococcus genus was found in atopic dermatitis group when compared with healthy controls (p=0.048).Conclusion: A decrease in the abundance of Streptococcus was found in children with AD. The role of Streptococcus in the development of AD needs to be confirmed in a large cohort study.Keywords: allergy, infant, gut microbiome, Streptococcus
