Developmental trajectories of atopic dermatitis with multiomics approaches in the infant gut: COCOA birth cohort

Background

An understanding of the phenotypes and endotypes of atopic dermatitis (AD) is essential for developing precision therapies. Recent studies have demonstrated evidence for the gut-skin axis in AD.

Objective

We sought to determine the natural course and clinical characteristics of AD phenotypes and investigate their mechanisms on the basis of multiomics analyses.

Methods

Latent class trajectory analysis was used to classify AD phenotypes in 2247 children who were followed until age 9 years from the COhort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases birth cohort study. Multiomics analyses (microbiome, metabolites, and gut epithelial cell transcriptome) using stool samples collected at age 6 months were performed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of AD phenotypes.

Results

Five AD phenotypes were classified as follows: never/infrequent, early-onset transient, intermediate transient, late-onset, and early-onset persistent. Early-onset persistent and late-onset phenotypes showed increased risks of food allergy and wheezing treatment ever, with bronchial hyperresponsiveness evident only in the early-onset persistent phenotype. Multiomics analyses revealed a significantly lower relative abundance of Ruminococcus gnavus and a decreased gut acetate level in the early-onset persistent phenotype, with potential associations to ACSS2, Janus kinase–signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling, and systemic T_H2 inflammation. The early-onset transient phenotype was associated with adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and/or chemokine signaling regulation, whereas the late-onset phenotype was linked with IL-17 and barrier dysfunction.

Conclusions

Multiomics profiling in early life may offer insights into different mechanisms underlying AD phenotypes in children.