儿童肠道菌群的成熟与哮喘的风险

Maturation of the gut microbiome and risk of asthma in childhood

Nature Communicationsvolume (2018) 

doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02573-2

这是Nature Communications[IF：12.124]发表的一项重要的“卫生假说”相关研究，发现菌群发育不成熟，或让儿童在5岁时的哮喘风险增加，特别是在母亲也患有哮喘的儿童中，一开始的菌群刺激不够，更是多触发了哮喘的遗传风险。很值得关注的研究，特别推荐。

论文摘要

The first years of our lives represent a period that is critical for susceptibility to environmental exposures. Here, lasting effects may be introduced to the developing immune system through complex host–environment interactions. The human microbiome contains as many as 1014 bacteria, similar to the number of cells of an individual. From birth, humans are continuously subjected to multiple exposures that influence microbiome ecology. The composition of the gut microbiome matures within the first years of life and the microbiome may have the ability to affect host immune maturation. Perturbation of the microbiome during this critical period of development may cause asthma, allergy, and other immunologic disorders. Thus, the microbiome may be an important environmental factor that determines the transition from health to disease.

The neonatal microbial colonization patterns are greatly affected by mode of delivery and use of intrapartum antibiotics factors which may cause long-term microbial derangements, though the extent of these derangements differs between studies. Birth by cesarean section is a recognized risk factor for asthma, as well as for other immune-mediated diseases in childhood. Furthermore, antibiotic exposure in the first year of life has also been associated with increased asthma risk, again pointing to microbe-mediated mechanisms. Two studies have associated the gut microbial composition in the first year of life with early wheezy phenotypes despite relying on questionnaire-based wheezy phenotypes and omitting microbial development over time.

The objective of this study is to analyze the nature of gut colonization patterns during the first year of life, and the associations of these patterns with the later risk of asthma among children from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood2010(COPSAC2010) birth cohort. We show that the gut microbiome, as assessed by β-diversity, relative abundances of genera and microbial maturation at age 1 year, is associated with asthma at age 5 years in the 690 children. This effect is only apparent in children born to asthmatic mothers, and especially characterizes an asthma phenotype also comprising allergic sensitization. This indicates that the development of the gut microbiome during the first year of life can impact the development of childhood asthma, and that adequate microbial maturation in this period may protect pre-disposed children.

实验综述

① 人体肠道菌群的组成在出生后的第一年内即发育成熟，该阶段的菌群组成变化可能与免疫失调相关，或可导致哮喘；

② 对690名儿童出生后第一年内的肠道菌群组成进行分析，发现拥有不成熟的菌群组成的1岁儿童，在5岁时拥有更高的哮喘风险；

③ 菌群发育不成熟与哮喘的关联，仅在那些母亲也患有哮喘的儿童中显著，提示出生后第一年内缺少菌群的刺激，可触发哮喘的遗传。