A synbiotic of Anaerostipes caccae and lactulose prevents and treats food allergy in mice

Cell Host Microbe. 2024 Jul 10;32(7):1163-1176.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.05.019. Epub 2024 Jun 20.

Abstract

Depletion of beneficial microbes by modern lifestyle factors correlates with the rising prevalence of food allergies. Re-introduction of allergy-protective bacteria may be an effective treatment strategy. We characterized the fecal microbiota of healthy and food-allergic infants and found that the anaerobe Anaerostipes caccae (A. caccae) was representative of the protective capacity of the healthy microbiota. We isolated a strain of A. caccae from the feces of a healthy infant and identified lactulose as a prebiotic to optimize butyrate production by A. caccae in vitro. Administration of a synbiotic composed of our isolated A. caccae strain and lactulose increased luminal butyrate in gnotobiotic mice colonized with feces from an allergic infant and in antibiotic-treated specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice, and prevented or treated an anaphylactic response to allergen challenge. The synbiotic's efficacy in two models and microbial contexts suggests that it may be a promising approach for the treatment of food allergy.

Keywords: IgE; butyrate; food allergy; live biotherapeutic; microbiome; synbiotic.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Butyrates / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Feces* / microbiology
  • Female
  • Food Hypersensitivity* / prevention & control
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome* / drug effects
  • Germ-Free Life
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Lactulose*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Prebiotics / administration & dosage
  • Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
  • Synbiotics* / administration & dosage

Substances

  • Lactulose
  • Butyrates
  • Prebiotics