Childhood allergy is preceded by an absence of gut lactobacilli species and higher levels of atopy-related plasma chemokines

Advances in research on gut microbiota and allergic diseases in children

Epidemiological studies indicate a rising prevalence of allergic diseases, now recognized as a major global public health concern. In children, the progression of these diseases often follows the "atopic march," beginning with eczema, followed by food allergies, allergic rhinitis, and asthma. Recent research has linked gut microbiota dysbiosis to the development of allergic diseases in children. The gut microbiota, a crucial component of human health, plays a vital role in maintaining overall well-being, highlighting its potential in preventing and modifying the course of allergic diseases. This review examines the relationship between childhood allergic diseases and gut microbiota, drawing on the latest evidence. We first elaborated the concepts of allergic diseases and gut microbiota, followed by a discussion of the developmental trajectory of the gut microbiota in healthy children. This review further explored the richness, diversity, and composition of the gut microbiota, as well as specific microbial taxa associated with allergic disease. Lastly, we discussed the current status and future potential of probiotic interventions in managing pediatric allergic diseases.

CCL17/TARC in autoimmunity and inflammation-not just a T-cell chemokine

Chemokine (C-C) ligand 17 (CCL17) was first identified as thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine when it was found to be constitutively expressed in the thymus and identified as a T-cell chemokine. This chemoattractant molecule has subsequently been found at elevated levels in a range of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, as well as in cancer. CCL17 is a C-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CCR4) ligand, with chemokine (C-C) ligand 22 being the other major ligand and, as CCR4 is highly expressed on helper T cells, CCL17 can play a role in T-cell-driven diseases, usually considered to be via its chemotactic activity on T helper 2 cells; however, given that CCR4 is also expressed by other cell types and there is elevated expression of CCL17 in many diseases, a broader CCL17 biology is suggested. In this review, we summarize the biology of CCL17, its regulation and its potential contribution to the pathogenesis of various preclinical models. Reference is made, for example, to recent literature indicating a role for CCL17 in the control of pain as part of a granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor/CCL17 pathway in lymphocyte-independent models and thus not as a T-cell chemokine. The review also discusses the potential for CCL17 to be a biomarker and a therapeutic target in human disorders.

Neonatal Streptococcus pneumoniae infection induces long-lasting dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in a mouse model

Early life is a “critical window” for gut microbiota development, antibiotic use during this period exerts a profound effect on gut microbial dysbiosis and asthma. In clinical practice, antibiotics are usually used in patients with bacterial infections, we previously showed that neonatal S. pneumoniae pneumonia promoted adult-onset asthma in mice model, while it remains unclear whether neonatal S. pneumoniae infection have long-term effects on gut microbiota. Neonatal BALB/c mice were inoculated with 5*10⁶ CFU D39 to establish non-lethal S. pneumoniae pneumonia model. At 2, 3, 8 weeks of age, feces in the cecum were prepared for 16S rRNA sequencing, lungs were collected for histopathologic and lung function analysis. S. pneumoniae-infected neonatal mice exhibited histopathologic lesions in their lungs and increased airway hyperresponsiveness, obvious alterations in alpha and beta diversities in the entire gut microbiota, and changes of the community structure during the breastfeeding period, infancy, and adulthood. Furthermore, gut microbial composition was modified after neonatal S. pneumoniae infection, with a decreased relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the breastfeeding period and infancy; in adulthood, the relative abundance of Allobaculum diminished while that of Proteobacteria was augmented. Neonatal S. pneumoniae infection induced a long-term alteration in microbial community composition.

Gut commensal Limosilactobacillus reuteri induces atypical memory-like phenotype in human dendritic cells in vitro

Memory-like responses in innate immune cells confer nonspecific protection against secondary exposures. A number of microbial agents have been found to induce enhanced or diminished recall responses in innate cells, however, studies investigating the ability of probiotic bacteria to trigger such effects are lacking. Here, we show that priming of human monocytes with a secretome from the gut probiotic bacterium Limosilactobacillus (L.) reuteri induces a mixed secondary response phenotype in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (mo-DCs), with a strong IL-6 and IL-1β response but low TNFα, IL-23 and IL-27 secretion. Instead, blood DC priming with L. reuteri-secretome resembles a tolerant state upon secondary exposure. A similar pattern was found in conventional and gut-like (retinoic acid exposed) DCs, although retinoic acid hampered TNFα and IL-6 production and enrichment of histone modifications in L. reuteri-secretome primed mo-DC cultures. Further, we show that the memory-like phenotype of mo-DCs, induced by priming stimuli, is important for subsequent T helper (Th) cell differentiation pathways and might determine the inflammatory nature of Th cells. We also show enhanced recall responses characterized by robust inflammatory cytokines and lactate production in the gut-like mo-DCs derived from β-glucan primed monocytes. Such responses were accompanied with enriched histone modifications at the promoter of genes associated with a trained phenotype in myeloid cells. Altogether, we demonstrate that a gut commensal-derived secretome prompts recall responses in human DCs which differ from that induced by classical training agents such as β-glucan. Our results could be beneficial for future therapeutic interventions where T cell responses are needed to be modulated.