Early Childhood Gut Microbiomes Show Strong Geographic Differences Among Subjects at High Risk for Type 1 Diabetes

• Published in: Diabetes care Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 329 - 332
• Main Authors: Kemppainen, Kaisa M., Ardissone, Alexandria N., Davis-Richardson, Austin G., Fagen, Jennie R., Gano, Kelsey A., León-Novelo, Luis G., Vehik, Kendra, Casella, George, Simell, Olli, Ziegler, Anette G., Rewers, Marian J., Lernmark, Åke, Hagopian, William, She, Jin-Xiong, Krischer, Jeffrey P., Akolkar, Beena, Schatz, Desmond A., Atkinson, Mark A., Triplett, Eric W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Diabetes Association 01.02.2015
• Subjects: Babies; Child, Preschool; Clinical Medicine; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - microbiology; Endocrinology and Diabetes; Endokrinologi och diabetes; Feces - microbiology; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Genotype & phenotype; Germany - epidemiology; Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacteria - isolation & purification; Gram-Positive Bacteria - isolation & purification; Health risk assessment; Humans; Infant; Intestines - microbiology; Klinisk medicin; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Microbiology; Microbiota - physiology; Novel Communications in Diabetes; Pediatrics; Pilot Projects; Residence Characteristics; Risk Factors; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - metabolism; Sweden - epidemiology; United States - epidemiology; Sweden; United States > US; Germany; Finland
• ISSN: 0149-5992; 1935-5548; 1935-5548
• DOI: 10.2337/dc14-0850

Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with numerous diseases, including type 1 diabetes. This pilot study determines how geographical location affects the microbiome of infants at high risk for type 1 diabetes in a population of homogenous HLA class II genotypes. High-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on stool samples collected from 90 high-risk, nonautoimmune infants participating in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study in the U.S., Germany, Sweden, and Finland. Study site-specific patterns of gut colonization share characteristics across continents. Finland and Colorado have a significantly lower bacterial diversity, while Sweden and Washington state are dominated by Bifidobacterium in early life. Bacterial community diversity over time is significantly different by geographical location. The microbiome of high-risk infants is associated with geographical location. Future studies aiming to identify the microbiome disease phenotype need to carefully consider the geographical origin of subjects.