Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown way certain gut bacteria in early life may shape the immune system and lower the risk of allergies and asthma.
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Researchers at DTU have patented a new invention that uses naturally produced substances from bifidobacteria in the gut to help lower the risk of allergies and asthma.
Allergies and asthma are becoming more common among children worldwide, but a new international study led by DTU points to a way to lower that risk later in life. The research shows that infants who are colonized early with specific types of bifidobacteria are less likely to develop allergies and asthma because these bacteria produce a substance in the gut, known as a metabolite, that calms immune reactions to allergens.
The study was published in the renowned journal Nature Microbiology.
The findings could significantly influence how allergies and asthma are prevented, as both conditions rank among the most common chronic illnesses in children. Strengthening the gut microbiota during the first months of life may offer a new path to prevention with broad public health benefits.
“The key breakthrough is that we have now identified a specific mechanism that can suppress the development of allergic reactions in the immune system already during infancy. If we can translate this knowledge into a preventive strategy – for example, through probiotic supplements or enriched infant formula—it will be a major step forward in the fight against allergies and asthma, which currently affect millions of children worldwide,” says project leader Susanne Brix Pedersen, professor at DTU Bioengineering.
Bacterial substance dampens allergic reaction
The researchers followed 147 children from birth until the age of five. They found that infants who developed a high abundance of certain bifidobacteria in their intestines early in life benefited from metabolites produced by these microbes. One compound in particular, 4-hydroxyphenyl lactate (4-OH-PLA), appeared to reduce the immune system’s tendency to overreact to allergens.
In laboratory experiments using human immune cells, the team showed that 4-OH-PLA reduces the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE), an antibody that plays a central role in allergic reactions. IgE acts as the body’s alarm molecule in allergies. When allergens such as pollen or food proteins enter the body, IgE antibodies bind to them and activate immune cells, triggering symptoms like itching, eczema, hay fever, and in some cases asthma. Higher IgE levels are associated with a greater risk of developing allergic disease.
Laboratory tests showed that natural concentrations of 4-OH-PLA reduce the body’s production of the IgE antibody by 60 percent without affecting the production of other types of antibodies.
Genetic analysis of stool samples
The study included large amounts of data from three large birth cohorts in Sweden, Germany, and Australia. The researchers analyzed stool samples from infants using, among other methods, genetic analyses and analyzes of small molecules to map both bacterial composition and metabolite levels. At the same time, blood samples were used to measure IgE antibodies against food and airborne allergens. Finally, the mechanism was tested in an experiment with human immune cells, where 4-OH-PLA directly inhibited IgE production.
The study demonstrates a concrete biological link between certain bifidobacteria, the metabolites they produce, and a healthy development of the immune system in young children.
The study included large amounts of data from three large birth cohorts in Sweden, Germany, and Australia. The researchers analyzed stool samples from infants using, among other methods, genetic analyses and analyzes of small molecules to map both bacterial composition and metabolite levels. At the same time, blood samples were used to measure IgE antibodies against food and airborne allergens. Finally, the mechanism was tested in an experiment with human immune cells, where 4-OH-PLA directly inhibited IgE production.
The study demonstrates a concrete biological link between certain bifidobacteria, the metabolites they produce, and a healthy development of the immune system in young children.
New strategy for preventing allergies and asthma
The researchers also investigated conditions that increased the likelihood of infants acquiring these beneficial bacteria.
“It is remarkable that children born vaginally were 14 times more likely to acquire the bifidobacteria from their mothers. In addition, exclusive breastfeeding and contact with other young children during early life also contributed to increased abundance of these bifidobacteria in the gut. This means that natural mechanisms help to prevent the development of these diseases. However, our lifestyle has contributed to these bifidobacteria becoming much rarer, and it is therefore also important to look at other preventive measures that can help infants who are not colonized with them,” says Rasmus Kaae Dehli, specialist in systems immunology at DTU Bioengineering.
The results indicate that the addition of 4-OH-PLA or probiotic bacteria that can produce the substance may become a new strategy for preventing allergies and asthma. The researchers see potential in developing dietary supplements for those who are fully breastfed or infant formula enriched with these bifidobacteria or their metabolites. This could open for targeted efforts in the critical window of opportunity in the first months of life, when the immune system is formed.
Professor Susanne Brix Pedersen is a collaborator on the BEGIN study at Aarhus University Hospital, which concerns the early prevention of asthma and allergies, and where one of the bifidobacteria that the researchers have demonstrated a positive effect of is given to infants.
If the trials at Aarhus University Hospital show positive effects, Susanne Brix Pedersen estimates that a possible new preventive strategy for young children could be ready within a few years. For the treatment of patients with allergies or asthma, the timeline is longer, up to ten years, since a drug must first be formulated and then tested in clinical trials before it can be brought to the market.
The researchers also investigated conditions that increased the likelihood of infants acquiring these beneficial bacteria.
“It is remarkable that children born vaginally were 14 times more likely to acquire the bifidobacteria from their mothers. In addition, exclusive breastfeeding and contact with other young children during early life also contributed to increased abundance of these bifidobacteria in the gut. This means that natural mechanisms help to prevent the development of these diseases. However, our lifestyle has contributed to these bifidobacteria becoming much rarer, and it is therefore also important to look at other preventive measures that can help infants who are not colonized with them,” says Rasmus Kaae Dehli, specialist in systems immunology at DTU Bioengineering.
The results indicate that the addition of 4-OH-PLA or probiotic bacteria that can produce the substance may become a new strategy for preventing allergies and asthma. The researchers see potential in developing dietary supplements for those who are fully breastfed or infant formula enriched with these bifidobacteria or their metabolites. This could open for targeted efforts in the critical window of opportunity in the first months of life, when the immune system is formed.
Professor Susanne Brix Pedersen is a collaborator on the BEGIN study at Aarhus University Hospital, which concerns the early prevention of asthma and allergies, and where one of the bifidobacteria that the researchers have demonstrated a positive effect of is given to infants.
If the trials at Aarhus University Hospital show positive effects, Susanne Brix Pedersen estimates that a possible new preventive strategy for young children could be ready within a few years. For the treatment of patients with allergies or asthma, the timeline is longer, up to ten years, since a drug must first be formulated and then tested in clinical trials before it can be brought to the market.
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