Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Infants with and without Eczema

Abstract

Eczema is a chronic form of childhood disorder that is gaining in prevalence in affluent societies. Previous studies hypothesized that the development of eczema is correlated with changes in microbial profile and composition of early life endemic microbiota, but contradictory conclusions were obtained, possibly due to the lack of minimization of apparent non-health related confounders (e.g., age, antibiotic consumption, diet and mode of delivery). In this study, we recruited seven caesarean-delivered and total formula-fed infants, and comparatively examined the early-life endemic microbiota in these infants with and without eczema. Using 16S pyrosequencing, infants' fecal microbiota were observed to comprise Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes as the four main phyla, and the presence and absence of specific populations within these four phyla are primarily mediated by ageing. Quantitative analysis of bacterial targets on a larger sample size (n = 36 at 1, 3, and 12 months of age) revealed that the abundances of Bifidobacterium and Enterobacteriaceae were different among caesarean-delivered infants with and without eczema, and the bacterial targets may be potential biomarkers that can correlate to the health status of these infants. Our overall findings suggest that the minimization of possible confounders is essential prior to comparative evaluation and correlation of fecal microbiota to health status, and that stool samples collected from caesarean-delivered infants at less than 1 year of age may represent a good cohort to study for potential biomarkers that can distinguish infants with eczema from those without. These findings would greatly facilitate future efforts in understanding the possible pathogenesis behind certain bacterial targets, and may lead to a timely intervention that reduces the occurrence of early life eczema and possibly allergic disorders in later life.

Gut microbiota of healthy Canadian infants: profiles by mode of delivery and infant diet at 4 months

“…Finally, similar to other sequencing-based studies, 18,26 we observed high variability of gut microbiota between infants. This finding concurs with previous reports in which gut microbiota profiles varied widely in the first year of life, before eventually converging toward a more stable and adult-like microbiota.…”

“…Overall, the mean rarefied Chao1 score for species richness was 12.0 (range [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. The mean Shannon diversity index was 1.38, ranging from 0.17 to 2.36 (Table 4).…”

“…Because early colonization may have longlasting effects on health, infant studies are vital. 3,4 Among the few studies of infant gut microbiota using DNA sequencing, most were conducted in restricted populations, such as infants delivered vaginally, 17 infants born by cesarean delivery who were formula-fed 18 or preterm infants with necrotizing enterocolitis. 19 Thus, the gut microbiota is essential to human health, yet the acquisition and development of this microbial community during infancy remains poorly understood.…”

Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in 5 - 8-Year-old Children with and without Cow Milk Protein Allergy

“…Differences in gut microbial composition between allergic and healthy infants have also been reported (11)(12)(13). Fewer Bifidobacterium and more Clostridium were observed in the gut microbiota of allergic children than in those of healthy children, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum was reported to be associated with atopic eczema in a nested case-control study on the fecal microbiota of infants (8,10,11).…”

Usefulness of Probiotics for Neonates?

“…Low diversity [65] and low levels of bifidobacteria have been associated with allergy development [66,67], as well as high levels of clostridia [14,66]. A recent study revealed differences in the abundance of Bifidobacterium and enterobacteria among 7 cesarean-delivered infants with and without eczema over a 2 year-follow-up and preceding the apparition of the symptoms [68].…”