why choose us

300×250 Ad Slot

Research Article: Non-invasive detection of pediatric atopic dermatitis based on fecal microbiota and metabolite profiles: a diagnostic approach

Date Published: 2026-06-05

Abstract:
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic skin inflammation, which affects 15-20% of children worldwide. Gut microbiota and its metabolites are crucial modulators of the “gut-skin axis” in atopic dermatogenesis. However, systematic investigations integrating microbiome and metabolome profiling in mild-to-moderate pediatric AD remain limited. To characterize gut microbiota and metabolic profiles in children with mild-to-moderate AD versus healthy controls, and to identify potential biomarkers and mechanistic pathways involved in disease pathogenesis. This single-center case-control study investigated 53 children diagnosed with AD and 16 healthy participants, and collected their fecal samples for microbial and metabonomic analysis. Mild-moderate pediatric AD patients exhibited significantly increased gut microbial richness and distinct ?-diversity compared to controls (PERMANOVA, R²=0.025, P = 0.017). Bacteroidota was enriched while Actinomycetota was depleted in AD patients ( P < 0.05). At genus level, Parabacteroides and Klebsiella increased, whereas Bifidobacterium decreased in AD. Species-level analysis revealed enrichment of bacteroides_plebeius , bacteroides_thetaiotaomicron , bacteroides_xylanisolvens , and parabacteroides_merdae in AD. A combined biomarker panel (Bacteroidota, Parabacteroides, and four key species) demonstrated promising exploratory diagnostic potential (AUC = 0.941, accuracy 84.6%), although these results require external validation in larger independent cohorts. Spearman analysis showed correlations between gut microbiome and clinical severity indicators. Thermodesulfobacteriota, Actinomycetota, Bifidobacterium , and specific ruminococcus strains positively correlated with the severity of AD. Metabolomics identified 68 differentially accumulated metabolites, primarily involved in lipid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism. Bacteroides species showed significant positive correlations with isovaleric acid levels in microbiota-metabolite analyses. Mild-to-moderate pediatric AD is characterized by distinct gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic alterations involving lipid metabolism. Cross-sectionally identified microbial features show exploratory associations with AD status, but causal inference is not possible. These hypothesis-generating findings support further investigation of the gut-skin axis in AD development and provide a rationale for future interventional studies targeting the microbiome and metabolome.

Introduction:
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic skin inflammation, which affects 15-20% of children worldwide. Gut microbiota and its metabolites are crucial modulators of the “gut-skin axis” in atopic dermatogenesis. However, systematic investigations integrating microbiome and metabolome profiling in mild-to-moderate pediatric AD remain limited.

Read more

300×250 Ad Slot