Association of Gut Lachnospiraceae and Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria

Abstract

(1) Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) has been linked to the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Furthermore, various studies have highlighted the anti-inflammatory properties of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), whose production is primarily regulated by the gut microbiota. However, only a few studies have investigated the role of major SCFA producers, such as <i>Lachnospiraceae</i>, in skin inflammatory diseases. (2) Goal: This study aimed to compare the abundance of <i>Lachnospiraceae</i> between CSU patients and healthy controls (HCs). (3) Material and methods: In this case-control study, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to compare the composition of the gut microbiome between 22 CSU patients and 23 HCs. (4) Results: Beta-diversity revealed significant clustering (<i>p</i> < 0.05) between the CSU patients and HCs. Alpha diversity in the CSU group was significantly decreased according to the Evenness index (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) identified the significant depletion of the <i>Lachnospiraceae</i> family in CSU patients. (5) Conclusion: Our study revealed the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in CSU patients, including decreased levels of <i>Lachnospiraceae</i> members, responsible for SCFA production, suggesting that SCFAs may contribute to immune dysfunction in the pathogenesis of CSU. We speculate that the modulation of SCFAs could serve as a prospective additional option in CSU treatment.