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  • Clinical Research Article
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Gut microbiome impact on childhood allergic rhinitis and house dust mite IgE responses

Pediatric Research volume 97, pages 2405–2414 (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

The correlation between the gut microbiota and airway inflammation in childhood allergic rhinitis (AR), particularly concerning allergen exposure, remains insufficiently explored. This study aimed to link gut microbiota changes with house dust mite (HDM)-specific IgE responses in pediatric AR.

Methods

Using metagenomic shotgun sequencing, we compared the fecal microbiota of 60 children with HDM-AR to 48 healthy controls (HC), analyzing the link to IgE reactions. We examined the effects of oral Escherichia (E.) fergusonii treatment in mice sensitized with ovalbumin and HDM on allergic symptoms, mucosal cell infiltration, Th1/Th2/Tregs balance in the spleen, serum cytokine levels, and E. fergusonii presence in feces.

Results

Children with HDM-AR have a less diverse gut microbiome and lower levels of E. fergusonii compared to controls, with a negative correlation between E. fergusonii abundance and HDM-specific IgE levels. In mice sensitized with OVA and HDM, oral administration of E. fergusonii improved allergic symptoms, reduced nasal eosinophils/mast cells infiltration and adjusted Th cell populations towards a non-allergic profile in splenic lymphocytes with exception of IFN-γ change in serum.

Conclusion

These findings underline the potential of targeting gut microbiota, particularly E. fergusonii, in managing childhood HDM-AR, suggesting a promising approach for future interventions.

Impact

  • The composition and distribution of gut microbiota in children with HDM-AR are significant changed.

  • The abundance of Escherichia genus is decreased in HDM-AR children.

  • HDM-specific IgE levels are strongly negatively associated with E. fergusonii abundance.

  • Oral administration of E. fergusonii effectively suppresses allergic responses in murine model.

  • These findings offer novel insights into the diagnosis and treatment of HDM-AR, which suggested that E. fergusonii holds promise as a potential therapeutic avenue for managing HDM-AR.

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Fig. 1: Microbial diversity analysis of intestinal microbiota in children with AR.
Fig. 2: Nasal symptoms and pathological changes in the murine AR model.
Fig. 3: E. fergusonii increased the frequency of Th1 and Treg cells and decreased the percentage of Th2 cells in the spleen of mice.
Fig. 4: E. fergusonii inhibited serum IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A and specific IgE level in OVA- and HDM-sensitised AR models, and relative copy number of E. fergusonii increased significantly in mouse feces after oral administration.

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Data availability

Raw sequence data have been deposited in the China National Center for Bioinformation database under accession identification. The data that support the findings in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by a grant from Chinese National Natural Science Foundation [82071015], the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality [21Y11900200], and a grant from Shanghai Pudong New Area Health Commission [PW2022D-07].

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Junyang Li, Nan Shen.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Junyang Li, Wenjun He & Youjin Li

  2. Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Nan Shen, Yi Pan, Jing Wu, Ruike Zhao & Xi Mo

  3. Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Nan Shen

  4. Department of Otolaryngology, Hainan Branch, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China

    Youjin Li

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Contributions

Y.L. and N.S. designed the study. J.L. and W.H. performed the experiments and wrote the manuscript. N.S. wrote the manuscript and analyzed the data. Y.P. performed bioinformatics analysis. W.H., J.W., R.Z. and X.M. analyzed the published data. Y.L. edited the paper and revised the manuscript. Y.L. supervised the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Youjin Li.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Board and the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardian/next of kin. The animal study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Children’s Medical Center.

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Li, J., Shen, N., He, W. et al. Gut microbiome impact on childhood allergic rhinitis and house dust mite IgE responses. Pediatr Res 97, 2405–2414 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03645-y

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