Post-doc Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, United States
Disclosure(s):
Ahmed Kabil, PhD: No financial relationships to disclose
Introduction/Rationale: Early life is a critical window during which the gut microbiota sculpts immunity and long-term susceptibility to allergic disease.
Methods: Using neonatal antibiotic administration and bone marrow transplantation assays, we show that depletion of short chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria alters gene expression in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and imprints a persistent, transplantable atopic immune phenotype.
Results: Bone marrow transplants from exposed mice generate recipients with elevated serum IgE, downstream increased IgE bound to basophils, and exacerbated allergic lung inflammation following papain challenge. H3K27 ChIP-seq analyses further reveals differential histone acetylation in HSPCs, consistent with a SCFA-mediated epigenetic regulatory mechanism.
Conclusion: Collectively, these findings establish a link between gut microbiota composition, hematopoiesis, and long-term immune function, offering a mechanistic explanation for microbiota-driven susceptibility to atopic disease and hematopoietic dysfunction.
