A feasibility study: association between gut microbiota enterotype and antibody response to seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine in adults.

Nick Shortt,Richard Beasley,Anna Mooney,Amber Parry‐Strong,Jenny Sparks,Aurélie Gestin,Georgia Wakefield,Tess Ostapowicz,Darmiga Thayabaran,Audrey Tay,Angela Jones,Jacqui Ralston,Mark Weatherall,Wayne Young,Olivier Gasser,Irene Braithwaite,Sarah T C Elliott ,Sally D Poppitt ,Hazel C Poyntz ,Elizabeth Forbes-Blom

doi:10.1002/cti2.1013

Abstract

ObjectiveWe investigated the potential feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of a nutritional intervention that may alter human gut microbiota and support immune defence against respiratory tract infection in adults (Proposed Study).MethodsIn total, 125 healthy adults aged 18–64 participated in a 6‐month study that measured antibody response to the seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine. We assessed completion rates, procedure adherence rates and the influence of possible exclusion criteria on potential recruitment into the Proposed Study. We examined whether the gut microbiota could be categorised into enterotypes, and whether there was an association between enterotypes and the antibody response to the influenza vaccine.ResultsThe participant completion rate was 97.6% (95% CI 93.1–99.5%). The proportions (95% CI) of participants who may be excluded for antibiotic or corticosteroid use in the 30 days prior to the study, or due to receiving the influenza vaccine in the previous two years were 9.6% (5.1–16.2), 8.0% (3.9–14.2) and 61.6% (52.5–70.2), respectively. All participants were stratified into four gut microbiota enterotypes. There was no association between these enterotypes and the antibody response to the influenza vaccine, although the study was not powered for this outcome.ConclusionThis study design is suitable for the Proposed Study. The completion rate is likely to be high, although exclusion criteria should be selected with care. Further analyses of gut microbiota composition or function in association with antibody and immune responses are warranted to explore the role of host–microbiota interactions on protective immunity.

Highlights

Previous investigations have demonstrated a clear relationship between the gut microbiota and the protective antibody response to influenza in animal models,[1,2] and clinical studies suggest the human gut microbiota influences the immune response.[3,4]
Gut microbiota enterotypes or community types were proposed as a method to classify individuals based on the abundance of certain microbial taxa in fecal samples.[6]
Four distinct fecal enterotypes were identified based on complex configurations of numerous microbial taxa, supporting the original findings that the taxa which characterise each enterotype can represent the microbial ecosystem as a whole.[7]

Summary

Introduction

Previous investigations have demonstrated a clear relationship between the gut microbiota and the protective antibody response to influenza in animal models,[1,2] and clinical studies suggest the human gut microbiota influences the immune response.[3,4] This raises the possibility that an individual’s gut microbiota may affect the strength of their immune response to vaccination.The major difficulty in dissecting the contribution of the gut microbiota to health and disease is the high variation between and within individuals.[5]. Whether characterisation of the gut microbiota using this approach can predict disease risk, responsiveness to therapies or responsiveness to vaccines remains to be determined

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion