High dietary fat intake induces a microbiota signature that promotes food allergy

Publication date: Available online 13 February 2019

Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Author(s): Maryam Hussain, Germán Bonilla-Rosso, Cheong KC. Kwong Chung, Lukas Bäriswyl, Maria Pena Rodriguez, Brian S. Kim, Philipp Engel, Mario Noti

Abstract

Background

Diet-induced obesity and food allergies rise in tandem, but a potential cause-and-effect relationship between these diseases of affluence remains to be tested.

Objective

To test the role of high dietary fat intake, diet-induced obesity and associated changes in gut microbial community structure on food allergy pathogenesis.

Methods

Mice were fed a high fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks prior to food allergen sensitization on an atopic dermatitis-like skin lesion followed by intra-gastric allergen challenge to induce experimental food allergy. Germ-free animals were colonized with a signature HFD- or lean microbiota for 8 weeks prior to induction of food allergy. Food allergic responses were quantified using a clinical allergy score, serum IgE levels, serum MMCP-1 concentrations and type-2 cytokine responses. Accumulation of intestinal mast cells was examined by flow cytometry and chloroacetate esterase tissue staining. Changes in the gut microbial community structure were assessed by high-throughput 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing.

Results

HFD-induced obesity potentiates food allergic responses associated with dysregulated intestinal effector mast cell responses, increased intestinal permeability and gut dysbiosis. A HFD-associated microbiome was transmissible to germ-free mice with the gut microbial community structure of recipients segregating according to the microbiota input source. Independent of an obese state, a HFD-associated gut microbiome was sufficient to confer enhanced susceptibility to food allergy.

Conclusion

These findings identify HFD-induced microbial alterations as risk factor for experimental food allergy and uncouple a pathogenic role of a HFD-associated microbiome from obesity. Post-dieting microbiome alterations due to over indulgence of dietary fat may increase susceptibility to food allergy.

Graphical abstract

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