Ratio of Klebsiella/Bifidobacterium in early life correlates with later development of paediatric allergy

Abstract

Several studies have reported that intestinal microbial colonization patterns differ between nonallergic and allergic infants. However, the microbial signature underlying the pathogenesis of allergies remains unclear. We aim to gain insight into the development of the intestinal microbiota of healthy infants and infants who develop allergy in early life, and identify potential microbiota biomarkers of later allergic disease. Using a case-control design in a Chinese sub-cohort of a Singaporean birth cohort (GUSTO), we utilized 16S rRNA gene sequencing to assess intestinal Europe PMC Funders Author ManuscriptsEurope PMC Funders Author Manuscripts microbial composition and diversity of 21 allergic and 18 healthy infants at 3 weeks, 3 months and 6 months of age, and correlated the microbiota with allergy at ages 18 and 36 months. Pronounced differences in intestinal microbiota composition between allergic and healthy infants were observed at 3 months of age. The intestine of healthy infants was colonised with higher abundance of commensal Bifidobacterium. Conversely, Klebsiella, an opportunistic pathogen, was significantly enriched in the allergic infants. Interestingly, infants with a high Klebsiella/ Bifidobacterium (K/B) ratio (above the population median K/B ratio) at age 3 months had an odds ratio of developing allergy by 3 years of age of 9.00 (95% confidence interval 1.46 -55.50) compared to those with low K/B ratio. This study demonstrated a relationship between the ratio of genera Klebsiella and Bifidobacterium during early infancy and development of paediatric allergy in childhood. Our study postulates that an elevated Klebsiella/Bifidobacterium ratio in early infancy could be a potential indicator of an increased risk of allergy development. This line of research might enable future intervention strategies in early life to prevent or treat allergy. Our study provides new insights into microbial signatures associated with childhood allergy, in particular, suggests that an elevated Klebsiella/Bifidobacterium ratio could be a potential early-life microbiota biomarker of allergic disease.

Impact of delivery mode-associated gut microbiota dynamics on health in the first year of life

“…For Klebsiella, the difference in abundance lasted for more than 4 months, long after the initial neonatal period. Recently, an increased Klebsiella/Bifidobacterium ratio in early life was correlated with later development of pediatric allergy 29 . This could be an important link between mode of delivery and increased prevalence of pediatric allergies following CS birth.…”

The gut microbiome alterations in allergic and inflammatory skin diseases – an update

“…It is well‐documented that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in immune regulation and that the dysbiosis and low intestinal microbiota diversity can determine allergic diseases development. An elevated Klebsiella/Bifidobacterium ratio in early infancy can be a potential indicator of an increased risk of allergy development . In the first days of life, the neonatal gastrointestinal tract becomes gradually inhabited by multiple microorganisms.…”

“…An elevated Klebsiella/Bifidobacterium ratio in early infancy can be a potential indicator of an increased risk of allergy development. 100,101 In the first days of life, the neonatal gastrointestinal tract becomes gradually inhabited by multiple microorganisms. This process is modulated by factors such as delivery mode, maternal microbiota and antibiotic therapy as well as milk source and probiotic supplementation.…”

Evolution of the Gut Microbiome in Early Childhood: A Cross-Sectional Study of Chinese Children

“…The development of the human gut microbiome in early life has lasting effects on the host, and aberrancies in this process may affect health in adulthood (Rautava et al, 2012;Arrieta et al, 2014). Gut microbial alterations during early infancy have been shown to affect the risk of childhood obesity (Koleva et al, 2015), type 1 diabetes (Kostic et al, 2015), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (Nash et al, 2017), asthma (Arrieta et al, 2015), and allergic disease (Low et al, 2017;Candy et al, 2018). Therefore, an understanding of gut microbiota development in early life could provide insight into how its development impacts immune development, and lead to microbial-based therapeutics that target disease prevention at an early age.…”