Role of gut microbiota in children with allergic rhinitis with high serum total IgE level

Abstract

Objective:To study the role of gut microbiota in children with allergic rhinitis with high serum total IgE level. Method:A total of 17 cases of children in Shanghai Children's Medical Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, who suffered from perennial allergic rhinitis of grade 5-6, were enrolled in this study. Baseline information were collected from all participants. Peripheral blood was collected to test the level of serum total IgE and specific IgE. Fecal samples were collected for bacterial DNA extraction and sequenced by 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. R, Mother and LEfSe softwares were used for diversity analysis, relative abundance calculation and differential species detection. Result:Twenty-three fecal samples were collected in total, including thirteen in attack period（attack group） and ten in control period（control group）. In the attack group, six cases were serum total IgE positive（positive group） and seven were negative（negative group）. Compared with the control group, there was no significant difference in either Alpha diversity or Beta diversity of Weighted Unifrac in the attack group（P>0.05）. The relative abundance of odoribacteraceae and odoribacter were significantly increased in the attack group（LDA score>2）. The relative abundance of Porphyromonadaceae in positive group were significantly lower than that in negative group, while family Dethiosulfovibrionaceae genus Pyramidobacter was definitely higher on the contrast（LDA score>2）. Conclusion:Children with allergic rhinitis have different characteristics of intestinal flora during the attack and control period. Gut microbiota is associated with high serum total IgE level in children with allergic rhinitis. Specific microbial alterations play a potential role in disease pathophysiology.