Composition and Functionality of the Gut Microbiome in Relation to AD
The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the development of a healthy immune system and may thereby protect against immune-mediated disorders such as allergies, autoimmunity, and chronic inflammatory diseases. To date, only a limited number of studies have investigated the maturation of the gut microbiome at the species level together with its functional capacity and compared these features between children developing atopic dermatitis (AD) and healthy children. Furthermore, the influence of environmental factors, particularly nutrition during the first year of life, on gut microbiome and disease development will be investigated.
Using samples collected in the context of the CARE study, we performed shotgun sequencing of fecal samples collected at birth and at 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, and 13 months of age. Together with metabolomic data, including short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels, we aim to identify microbial species and metabolites associated with the development of AD in early childhood.
Skin Microbiome Analysis of Children in the First Years of Life
The skin microbiome is an essential component of a healthy skin barrier and is frequently dysregulated in atopic dermatitis (AD), often showing increased levels of Staphylococcus aureus. S. aureus correlates with AD severity and therefore represents an important biomarker of the disease. Within the CARE study, we investigate the influence of the skin microbiome on the early-life development of AD.
For this analysis, skin swabs collected from the upper arm (lesional and non-lesional areas) within the CARE study at birth, 4 months, and 12 months of age are used. DNA is extracted from the samples, followed by downstream skin microbiome analyses using amplicon-based next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina MiSeq platform. In addition, quantitative analyses of Staphylococcus spp. and S. aureus are performed using qPCR.
Early-Life Factors and Phenotypes of Allergic Diseases
This project aims to investigate how early-life factors influence the trajectories of atopic dermatitis and other atopic diseases, with the goal of identifying early determinants that may serve as targets for prevention.
Nutrition and Allergic Diseases
Previous studies suggest that greater dietary diversity (DD) during the first year of life may reduce the risk of allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, and food sensitization. Proposed mechanisms include enhanced gut microbiome diversity, beneficial nutrient intake, and early allergen exposure promoting immune tolerance. Most previous studies have assessed DD either at single time points or cumulatively, which fails to capture the dynamic nature of infant feeding as diets evolve from exclusive milk feeding to a varied solid-food diet. Given this variability, longitudinal approaches examining dietary trajectories over time may provide more accurate insights. To date, no studies have investigated DD trajectories during infancy in relation to allergy outcomes. Using data from the CARE study, we aim to address this gap by leveraging our detailed longitudinal dietary data to characterize dietary diversity trajectories during the first year of life and investigate their association with subsequent allergy outcomes.
Investigating Farming-Induced Molecular Mechanisms Longitudinally from Birth to Adolescence
This project aims to investigate whether protective environmental exposures influence the onset and persistence of allergic diseases into adolescence. This will be investigated within our longitudinal birth cohort, PASTURE. Furthermore, we aim to characterize the underlying molecular endotypes associated with the development and persistence of allergic diseases into adolescence, with a particular focus on asthma and hay fever, in the context of protective environmental exposures. Finally, we aim to functionally disentangle the central mechanisms underlying this environmentally mediated protection against respiratory allergies using state-of-the-art high-throughput analyses. These include the assessment of longitudinal gene expression patterns from childhood through adolescence, as well as the analysis of single-cell data at the age of 16 years in children with manifest asthma and allergic rhinitis compared with healthy controls. In addition, metabolomic profiles, regulatory markers, and inflammatory cytokines will be assessed
