Association of the gut microbiome in pediatric asthma exacerbations.

<bold>Background:</bold> Asthma exacerbations complicate pediatric asthma, burdening patients and healthcare systems, while increasing long-term risks. While the gut microbiome has been linked to asthma control, its role in exacerbations remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify gut microbiome signatures linked to asthma exacerbations in children and evaluate their potential as predictive biomarkers. <bold>Methods:</bold> Children with asthma (ages 6-18) from two independent study populations, the PUFFIN trial and the SysPharmPediA study, were prospectively monitored for asthma exacerbations over six months. Gut microbiome was profiled from baseline fecal samples using shotgun metagenomics and analyzed for diversity. Differentially abundant taxa were identified with ANCOM-BC and compared across studies. A random forest model assessed predictive capacity of the identified taxa using PUFFIN (training) and SysPharmPediA (test) datasets. <bold>Results:</bold> Fecal samples from 88 PUFFIN patients (mean age: 10.5, 53% male, 12.5% exacerbated) and 100 SysPharmPediA patients (11.3, 66%, 18%) were analyzed. Gut microbiome diversity did not differ by exacerbation status. However, four bacterial species— <italic>Blautia massiliensis, Blautia wexlerae, Eisenbergiella sp900066775, and Flemingibacterium sp900546315</italic>—were significantly more abundant in children with an exacerbation within 6-months across both studies. <italic>Avimicrobium caccorum</italic> showed opposing trends between studies. These taxa lacked predictive capacity in the random forest analysis. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> This study identifies bacterial species associated with asthma exacerbations in children, suggesting a potential link between the gut microbiome and the pathophysiology of asthma exacerbations.

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Published
2025-09-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.congress-2025.pa3802
Primary Topic
Gut microbiota and health
Type
article
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article

Association of the gut microbiome in pediatric asthma exacerbations.

Susanne Harner, Corinna Bang, Simone Hashimoto, Gerard H. Koppelman et al.
Gut microbiota and health
article

Association of the gut microbiome in pediatric asthma exacerbations.

Susanne Harner, Corinna Bang, Simone Hashimoto, Gerard H. Koppelman, Mahmoud I. Abdel‐Aziz, Mariëlle W. Pijnenburg, Mario Gorenjak, Uroš Potočnik, Anke H. Maitland‐van der Zee, Olaia Sardón‐Prado, Anne H. Neerincx, Susanne J. H. Vijverberg, Antoaneta A. Toncheva, Paula Corcuera, Heike Buntrock‐Döpke, Alexander Kiefer, Aletta D. Kraneveld, Maria Pino‐Yanes, Susanne Brandstetter, Elise M. A. Slob, Shahriyar Shahbazi Khamas, Christine Wolff, Michael Kabesch, Parastoo Kheiroddin, Lieke Noij, Elin T.G. Kersten, Leyre López‐Fernández, Andre Franke, Fleur Sondaal, Lisa Bruijnincx
article en

Abstract

<bold>Background:</bold> Asthma exacerbations complicate pediatric asthma, burdening patients and healthcare systems, while increasing long-term risks. While the gut microbiome has been linked to asthma control, its role in exacerbations remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify gut microbiome signatures linked to asthma exacerbations in children and evaluate their potential as predictive biomarkers. <bold>Methods:</bold> Children with asthma (ages 6-18) from two independent study populations, the PUFFIN trial and the SysPharmPediA study, were prospectively monitored for asthma exacerbations over six months. Gut microbiome was profiled from baseline fecal samples using shotgun metagenomics and analyzed for diversity. Differentially abundant taxa were identified with ANCOM-BC and compared across studies. A random forest model assessed predictive capacity of the identified taxa using PUFFIN (training) and SysPharmPediA (test) datasets. <bold>Results:</bold> Fecal samples from 88 PUFFIN patients (mean age: 10.5, 53% male, 12.5% exacerbated) and 100 SysPharmPediA patients (11.3, 66%, 18%) were analyzed. Gut microbiome diversity did not differ by exacerbation status. However, four bacterial species— <italic>Blautia massiliensis, Blautia wexlerae, Eisenbergiella sp900066775, and Flemingibacterium sp900546315</italic>—were significantly more abundant in children with an exacerbation within 6-months across both studies. <italic>Avimicrobium caccorum</italic> showed opposing trends between studies. These taxa lacked predictive capacity in the random forest analysis. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> This study identifies bacterial species associated with asthma exacerbations in children, suggesting a potential link between the gut microbiome and the pathophysiology of asthma exacerbations.

University Medical Center Groningen (NL), Universidad de La Laguna (ES), Utrecht University (NL), Erasmus MC (NL), University Hospital Regensburg (DE), Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE), University of Maribor (SI), Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute (ES), Amsterdam Neuroscience (NL), Pharmo Institute (NL), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (NL), University of Amsterdam (NL)
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Gut microbiota and health
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