Immune Netw.  2022 Apr;22(2):e17. 10.4110/in.2022.22.e17.

Dietary Diversity during Early Infancy Increases Microbial Diversity and Prevents Egg Allergy in High-Risk Infants

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Uijeongbu 11749, Korea
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, Nowon Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul 01830, Korea
  • 3Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea
  • 4Environmental Health Center for Atopic Diseases, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul 06351, Korea
  • 5Department of Pediatrics, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, Kosin University School of Medicine, Busan 49267, Korea
  • 6Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon 51353, Korea
  • 7Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA
  • 8Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea
  • 9Center for Biomedical Statistics, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul 06351, Korea
  • 10R&D Institute, BioEleven Co., Ltd., Seoul 06142, Korea

Abstract

We aimed to investigate associations of dietary diversity (DD) with gut microbial diversity and the development of hen's egg allergy (HEA) in infants. We enrolled 68 infants in a highrisk group and 32 infants in a control group based on a family history of allergic diseases. All infants were followed from birth until 12 months of age. We collected infant feeding data, and DD was defined using 3 measures: the World Health Organization definition of minimum DD, food group diversity, and food allergen diversity. Gut microbiome profiles and expression of cytokines were evaluated by bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. High DD scores at 3 and 4 months were associated with a lower risk of developing HEA in the high-risk group, but not in the control group. In the high-risk group, high DD scores at 3, 4, and 5 months of age were associated with an increase in Chao1 index at 6 months. We found that the gene expression of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-8 were higher among infants who had lower DD scores compared to those who had higher DD scores in high-risk infants. Additionally, high-risk infants with a higher FAD score at 5 months of age showed a reduced gene expression of IL-13. Increasing DD within 6 months of life may increase gut microbial diversity, and thus reduce the development of HEA in infants with a family history of allergic diseases.

Keyword

Diet; Egg allergy; Food allergy; Infant; Gut microbiome; Immune tolerance
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