Gut and Oral Microbiota, Immunity and Clinical Features in Taiwanese Children with Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a skin inflammatory disease, characterized by itch, redness, swelling, oozing, thickening or dryness of skin. The condition typically starts from infancy with changing clinical severity in adolescence and adulthood. It bothers not only the health but also quality of life. The interactions between skin microbes and the skin conditions have been implicated in atopic dermatitis. However, the interplay between host immunity, gut and oral microbiota and clinical features in children remains unclear. In this study, we recruited 30 subjects (17 boys and 13 girls) with atopic dermatitis in a medical center in Taiwan. The mean age was 7.11±5.20 years old. The presentation of skin lesions included redness (73.3%), itch (66.7%), dryness (56.7%) and oozing (36.7%). Some of the patients have comorbidities of allergic rhinitis (30%) and asthma (10%). The mean SCORAD index was 55.33±16.96, with an involvement of 52.58±19.35% of body surface area. The mean eosinophil count was 12.01% and the total IgE was 5040.17 IU/mL. The gut and oral microbiomes were analyzed by using 16S rRNA gene and metagenome sequence analyses. Sterptococcal species are the major oral species and Bacteroides species are the major gut species associated with AD in children. Our data suggest that oral and gut microbiota may underlie the clinical features of AD. Further investigations on the interplay of microbiota, immunity and clinical features are warranted.