Environmental and mucosal microbiota and their role in childhood asthma.
- Birzele LT Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Depner M Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Ege MJ Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Engel M Research Unit Scientific Computing, Helmholtz Center Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Kublik S Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Helmholtz Center Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Bernau C Leibniz Supercomputing Center of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Garching, Germany.
- Loss GJ Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Genuneit J Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
- Horak E Division of Cardiology and Pulmonology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.
- Schloter M Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Helmholtz Center Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Braun-Fahrländer C Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
- Danielewicz H Department of Pediatrics, Allergology and Cardiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
- Heederik D Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- von Mutius E Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Legatzki A Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- 2016-08-10
Published in:
- Allergy. - 2017
asthma
epidemiology
microbiome
pediatrics
Asthma
Bacteria
Biodiversity
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Environmental Exposure
Environmental Microbiology
Female
Humans
Male
Microbiota
Mucous Membrane
English
BACKGROUND
High microbial diversity in the environment has been associated with lower asthma risk, particularly in children exposed to farming. It remains unclear whether this effect operates through an altered microbiome of the mucosal surfaces of the airways.
METHODS
DNA from mattress dust and nasal samples of 86 school age children was analyzed by 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragments. Based on operational taxonomic units (OTUs), bacterial diversity and composition were related to farm exposure and asthma status.
RESULTS
Farm exposure was positively associated with bacterial diversity in mattress dust samples as determined by richness (P = 8.1 × 10-6 ) and Shannon index (P = 1.3 × 10-5 ). Despite considerable agreement of richness between mattress and nasal samples, the association of richness with farming in nasal samples was restricted to a high gradient of farm exposure, that is, exposure to cows and straw vs no exposure at all. In mattress dust, the genera Clostridium, Facklamia, an unclassified genus within the family of Ruminococcaceae, and six OTUs were positively associated with farming. Asthma was inversely associated with richness [aOR = 0.48 (0.22-1.02)] and Shannon index [aOR = 0.41 (0.21-0.83)] in mattress dust and to a lower extent in nasal samples [richness aOR 0.63 = (0.38-1.06), Shannon index aOR = 0.66 (0.39-1.12)].
CONCLUSION
The stronger inverse association of asthma with bacterial diversity in mattress dust as compared to nasal samples suggests microbial involvement beyond mere colonization of the upper airways. Whether inhalation of metabolites of environmental bacteria contributes to this phenomenon should be the focus of future research.
High microbial diversity in the environment has been associated with lower asthma risk, particularly in children exposed to farming. It remains unclear whether this effect operates through an altered microbiome of the mucosal surfaces of the airways.
METHODS
DNA from mattress dust and nasal samples of 86 school age children was analyzed by 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragments. Based on operational taxonomic units (OTUs), bacterial diversity and composition were related to farm exposure and asthma status.
RESULTS
Farm exposure was positively associated with bacterial diversity in mattress dust samples as determined by richness (P = 8.1 × 10-6 ) and Shannon index (P = 1.3 × 10-5 ). Despite considerable agreement of richness between mattress and nasal samples, the association of richness with farming in nasal samples was restricted to a high gradient of farm exposure, that is, exposure to cows and straw vs no exposure at all. In mattress dust, the genera Clostridium, Facklamia, an unclassified genus within the family of Ruminococcaceae, and six OTUs were positively associated with farming. Asthma was inversely associated with richness [aOR = 0.48 (0.22-1.02)] and Shannon index [aOR = 0.41 (0.21-0.83)] in mattress dust and to a lower extent in nasal samples [richness aOR 0.63 = (0.38-1.06), Shannon index aOR = 0.66 (0.39-1.12)].
CONCLUSION
The stronger inverse association of asthma with bacterial diversity in mattress dust as compared to nasal samples suggests microbial involvement beyond mere colonization of the upper airways. Whether inhalation of metabolites of environmental bacteria contributes to this phenomenon should be the focus of future research.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1111/all.13002
- PMID 27503830
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/93998
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