Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways affecting one in ten children in Westernized countries. Recently, our group showed that specific bacterial genera in early life are associated with atopy and wheezing in 1-year-old children. However, little is known about the link between the early life gut microbiome and the diagnosis of asthma in preschool age children. To determine the role of the gut microbiota in preschool age asthma, children up to 4 years of age enrolled in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study were classified as asthmatic (n=39) or matched healthy controls (n=37). 16S rRNA sequencing and quantitative PCR (qPCR) were used to analyse the composition of the 3-month and 1-year gut microbiome of these children. At 3 months the abundance of the genus, Lachnospira (L), was decreased (P=0.008), whereas the abundance of the species, Clostridium neonatale (C), was increased (P=0.07) in asthmatics. Quartile analysis of stool composition at 3-months revealed a negative association between the ratio of these two bacteria (L/C) and asthma risk by 4 years of age [quartile 1: odds ratio (OR)=15, P=0.02, CI (confidence interval)= 1.8–124.7; quartile 2: OR=1.0, ns; quartile 3: OR=0.37, ns]. We conclude that opposing shifts in the relative abundances of Lachnospira and C. neonatale in the first 3 months of life are associated with preschool age asthma, and that the L/C ratio may serve as a potential early life biomarker to predict asthma development.
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Research Article|
October 26 2016
Shifts in Lachnospira and Clostridium sp. in the 3-month stool microbiome are associated with preschool age asthma
Leah T. Stiemsma
;
Leah T. Stiemsma
*
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z3†
Child & Family Research Institute and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, V5Z 4H4
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Marie-Claire Arrieta
;
Marie-Claire Arrieta
*
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z3‡
Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z4
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Pedro A. Dimitriu
;
Pedro A. Dimitriu
*
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z3
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Jasmine Cheng
;
Jasmine Cheng
†
Child & Family Research Institute and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, V5Z 4H4
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Lisa Thorson
;
Lisa Thorson
‡
Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z4
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Diana L. Lefebvre
;
Diana L. Lefebvre
§
Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, L8S 4K1
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Meghan B. Azad
;
Meghan B. Azad
║
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, R3A 1S1
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Padmaja Subbarao
;
Padmaja Subbarao
¶
Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, M5S 1A1**
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, M5G 1X8
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Piush Mandhane
;
Piush Mandhane
††
Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, T6G 1C9‡‡
School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, T6G 1C9
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Allan Becker
;
Allan Becker
║
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, R3A 1S1
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Malcolm R. Sears
;
Malcolm R. Sears
§
Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, L8S 4K1
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Tobias R. Kollmann
;
Tobias R. Kollmann
†
Child & Family Research Institute and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, V5Z 4H4§§
Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3V4
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the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study Investigators
;
the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study Investigators
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William W. Mohn
;
William W. Mohn
*
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z3
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B. Brett Finlay
;
B. Brett Finlay
1
*
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z3‡
Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z4¶¶
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z3
Correspondence: Stuart Turvey (email sturvey@cfri.ca) or Brett Finlay (email bfinlay@mail.ubc.ca).
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Stuart E. Turvey
Stuart E. Turvey
1
†
Child & Family Research Institute and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, V5Z 4H4§§
Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6H 3V4
Correspondence: Stuart Turvey (email sturvey@cfri.ca) or Brett Finlay (email bfinlay@mail.ubc.ca).
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Clin Sci (Lond) (2016) 130 (23): 2199-2207.
Article history
Received:
May 19 2016
Revision Received:
August 23 2016
Accepted:
September 12 2016
Accepted Manuscript online:
September 15 2016
Citation
Leah T. Stiemsma, Marie-Claire Arrieta, Pedro A. Dimitriu, Jasmine Cheng, Lisa Thorson, Diana L. Lefebvre, Meghan B. Azad, Padmaja Subbarao, Piush Mandhane, Allan Becker, Malcolm R. Sears, Tobias R. Kollmann, the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study Investigators, William W. Mohn, B. Brett Finlay, Stuart E. Turvey; Shifts in Lachnospira and Clostridium sp. in the 3-month stool microbiome are associated with preschool age asthma. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 December 2016; 130 (23): 2199–2207. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/CS20160349
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