Recommended Citation
McCauley KE, Rackaityte E, LaMere B, Fadrosh DW, Fujimura KE, Panzer AR, Lin DL, Lynch KV, Halkias J, Mendoza VF, Burt TD, Bendixsen C, Barnes K, Kim H, Jones K, Ownby DR, Johnson CC, Seroogy CM, Gern JE, Boushey HA, and Lynch SV. Heritable vaginal bacteria influence immune tolerance and relate to early-life markers of allergic sensitization in infancy. Cell Rep Med 2022; 3(8):100713.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-16-2022
Publication Title
Cell Rep Med
Abstract
Maternal asthma status, prenatal exposures, and infant gut microbiota perturbation are associated with heightened risk of atopy and asthma risk in childhood, observations hypothetically linked by intergenerational microbial transmission. Using maternal vaginal (n = 184) and paired infant stool (n = 172) samples, we identify four compositionally and functionally distinct Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota clusters (VCs) that relate to prenatal maternal health and exposures and infant serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) status at 1 year. Variance in bacteria shared between mother and infant pairs relate to VCs, maternal allergy/asthma status, and infant IgE levels. Heritable bacterial gene pathways associated with infant IgE include fatty acid synthesis and histamine and tryptophan degradation. In vitro, vertically transmitted Lactobacillus jensenii strains induce immunosuppressive phenotypes on human antigen-presenting cells. Murine supplementation with L. jensenii reduces lung eosinophils, neutrophilic expansion, and the proportion of interleukin-4 (IL-4)(+) CD4(+) T cells. Thus, bacterial and atopy heritability are intimately linked, suggesting a microbial component of intergenerational disease transmission.
Medical Subject Headings
Animals; Asthma; Bacteria; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Immune Tolerance; Immunoglobulin E; Infant; Mice; Pregnancy
PubMed ID
35932762
Volume
3
Issue
8
First Page
100713
Last Page
100713
