Unique Gut Microbiome Signatures among Adult Patients with Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis in Southern Chinese

Abstract

Imbalance of the immune system caused by alterations of the gut microbiome is considered to be a critical factor in the pathogenesis of infant eczema, but the exact role of the gut microbiome in adult atopic dermatitis (AD) patients remains to be clarified. To investigate the differences of the gut microbiome between adult AD patients and healthy individuals, stool samples of 234 adults, containing 104 AD patients and 130 healthy subjects, were collected for 16S rRNA gene amplicon. Altered structure and metabolic dysfunctions of the gut microbiome were identified in adult AD patients. Our results illustrated that the adult AD patients were more likely to have allergies, particularly non-food allergies. In addition, the gut microbiome composition of the AD and normal groups were considerably different. Moreover, <i>Romboutsia</i> and <i>Clostridi-um_sensu_stricto_1</i> was enriched in the normal group, whereas <i>Blautia</i>, <i>Butyricicoccus</i>, <i>Lachnoclostridium</i>, <i>Eubacterium_hallii_group</i>, <i>Erysi-pelatoclostridium</i>, <i>Megasphaera</i>, <i>Oscillibacter</i>, and <i>Flavonifractor</i> dominated in the AD group. Additionally, purine nucleotide degradation pathways were significantly enriched in the AD group, and the enrichment of proteinogenic amino acid biosynthesis pathways was found in the normal group. This study provides insights into new therapeutic strategies targeting the gut microbiome for AD and evidence for the involvement of the gut-skin axis in AD patients.