Differences in gut microbiota between allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and skin urticaria: A pilot study

INTRODUCTION. Several forms of allergy have been clinically presented, including, among others, atopic dermatitis (eczema), urticaria (hives), and allergic rhinitis (rhinitis). As their detailed pathogenesis continues to be researched, we aimed in the current study to compare gut microbiota differences between eczema, hives, and rhinitis patients. METHODS. We enrolled 19 eczemas, nine hives, and 11 allergic rhinitis patients in this study. Fecal samples were examined using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid amplicon sequencing, followed by bioinformatics and statistical analyses. We compared microbiota in dermatitis (eczema), chronic urticaria (hives), and allergic rhinitis (rhinitis). RESULTS. All clinical data were similar between the subgroups. The microbiota results indicated that Bacteroidales species were found in skin allergies, both urticaria and eczema, when compared to rhinitis. The microbiota differs substantially between those patients with atopic dermatitis (eczema), chronic urticaria (hives), and allergic rhinitis (rhinitis), thus indicating that the gut-skin and gut-nose axes exist. Gut flora colonies differ significantly between skin allergy and nose allergy. Bacteroidales species could be a clinical link between gut flora and skin allergy; of those, Bacteroids Plebeius DSM 17135 is significantly associated with the urticaria (hives) subgroup.Conclusion. Our results demonstrated high intra-group homogeneous and high inter-group heterogeneous microbiota. The clinical symptoms of eczema, hives, and rhinitis can all be linked to specific microbiota in the current study. In this pilot study, the Ruminococcaceae and Bacteroidales species are associated with allergic disease, in line with several previous published articles, and the abundance of Firmicutes Phylum is representative of intestinal dysbiosis. In the future, a larger cohort and thorough biochemical studies are needed for confirmation.