Gut Microbiome May Predict Later Peanut Allergies

FRIDAY, Sept. 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Infants who later develop peanut allergy have distinct differences in their gut microbiome in early childhood, according to a study published online Aug. 22 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Yoojin Chun, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues performed 16S rRNA sequencing, short chain fatty acid measurements, and global metabolome profiling of fecal samples at infancy and at mid-childhood (mean age, 9 years) in 122 participants.

The researchers found that 28.7 percent of infants went on to develop peanut allergy by mid-childhood and that lower infant gut microbiome diversity was associated with peanut allergy development (P = 0.014). There were significant differences in temporal changes in the relative abundance of specific microbiota and gut metabolite levels in children who developed peanut allergy. Children developing peanut allergy had different abundance trajectories of Clostridium sensu stricto 1 sp. (false discovery rate [FDR], 0.015) and Bifidobacterium sp. (FDR, 0.033), with butyrate (FDR, 0.045) and isovalerate (FDR, 0.036) decreasing over time. Clusters of metabolites associated with peanut allergy were seen in the histidine metabolism pathway. There were positive correlations between microbiota, butyrate, and isovalerate and negative correlations with histamine in the peanut allergy-free network.

“It's a major step forward to understand that specific patterns of gut bacteria and their metabolic products can be early indicators for the development of peanut allergies,” said senior author, Supinda Bunyavanich, M.D., M.P.H., also from Mount Sinai, in a statement.

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