Abstract (provisional)
Background
Multiple studies have demonstrated that early-life exposure to pets or siblings affords protection against allergic disease; these associations are commonly attributed to the "hygiene hypothesis". Recently, low diversity of the infant gut microbiota has also been linked to allergic disease. In this study, we characterize the infant gut microbiota in relation to pets and siblings.
Methods
The study population comprised a small sub-sample of 24 healthy, full term infants from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort. Mothers reported on household pets and siblings. Fecal samples were collected at 4 months of age, and microbiota composition was characterized by high-throughput signature gene sequencing.
Results
Microbiota richness and diversity tended to be increased in infants living with pets, whereas these measures were decreased in infants with older siblings. Infants living with pets exhibited under-representation of Bifidobacteriaceae and over-representation of Peptostreptococcaceae; infants with older siblings exhibited under-representation of Peptostreptococcaceae.
Conclusions
This study provides new evidence that exposure to pets and siblings may influence the early development of the gut microbiota, with potential implications for allergic disease. These two traditionally protective "hygiene hypothesis" factors appear to differentially impact gut microbiota composition and diversity, calling into question the clinical significance of these measures. Further research is required to confirm and expand these findings.
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
Figure 3
Model for the possible influence of pets and siblings on infant gut microbiota
and subsequent development of atopic disease.
Household pets (D, dogs; C, cats) and siblings increase infant exposure to environmental microbes, promoting enrichment for
distinct combinations of organisms within the gut microbiota; overall richness and diversity are also impacted.
Despite favoring different microbiota profiles, the net effect of both pets
and siblings is to promote healthy immune system development and protect against atopic disease.
Further research is required to characterize the underlying biological mechanisms.
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