Alteration of taste perception, food neophobia and oral microbiota composition in children with food allergy

Abstract

Currently, the mechanisms underlying sensory perception and sensory performance in children with food allergies are far from being understood. As well, only recently, single research afforded the oral host-commensal milieu, addressing oral microbial communities in children with peanut allergies. To bridge the current gaps in knowledge both in the sensory and microbial fields, a psychophysiological case–control study was performed in allergic children (n = 29) and a healthy sex-age-matched control group (n = 30). Taste perception, food neophobia, and liking were compared in allergic and non-allergic children. The same subjects were characterized for their oral microbiota composition by addressing saliva to assess whether specific profiles were associated with the loss of oral tolerance in children with food allergies. Our study evidenced an impaired ability to correctly identify taste qualities in the allergic group compared to controls. These results were also consistent with anatomical data related to the fungiform papillae on the tongue, which are lower in number in the allergic group. Furthermore, distinct oral microbial profiles were associated with allergic disease, with significant down-representations of the phylum Firmicutes and of the genera Veillonella spp., Streptococcus spp., Prevotella spp., and Neisseria spp. For the first time, this study emphasizes the link between sensory perception and food allergy, which is a novel and whole-organism view of this pathology. Our data indicated that an impaired taste perception, as regards both functionality and physiologically, was associated with food allergy, which marginally influences the food neophobia attitude. It is also accompanied by compositional shifts in oral microbiota, which is, in turn, another actor of this complex interplay and is deeply interconnected with mucosal immunity. This multidisciplinary research will likely open exciting new approaches to therapeutic interventions.

Unraveling and quantifying “CandidatusSaccharibacteria”:in silicoand experimental evaluation of V3-V4 16S rRNA metagenomics and qPCR protocols

“…The next step was to experimentally evaluate the efficiency of the selected qPCR protocols (3 based on the 16S and one on the 23S gene, Table S1) on the collection of salivary DNA previously characterized by 16S metagenomics by (D’Auria et al 2023). In that paper, the authors found that the saliva of children suffering from food allergy, compared to matched controls, was enriched in “ Ca.…”

“…The latter are V3-V4 primers commonly used in 16S rRNA metagenomic studies. We used this pair in our previous work on the salivary microbiota of allergic children (D’Auria et al, 2023). The other pairs have been designed for qPCR and were included in the present study for the reasons detailed below.…”

“…As described below, in vitro experiments were carried out on DNA previously extracted and subjected to 16S metagenomics by D’Auria et al (D’Auria et al 2023). The V3-V4 16S rRNA sequences annotated as Saccharibacteria by D’Auria and colleagues (2023) were retrieved and Blastn searched against both the two 16S rRNA datasets (from SILVA and genome assemblies) already used for phylogenetic analyses. For each sequence, the most similar sequence was highlighted on the phylogenetic trees using iTOL (Letunic and Bork 2021).…”

“…The four qPCR protocols for quantification of “ Ca . Saccharibacteria” were tested in vitro on 61 DNA samples already subjected to 16S metagenomics by D’Auria et al (D’Auria et al 2023). In that study, DNA was extracted from saliva of patients suffering from food allergies and matched controls, and subjected to 16S metagenomics.…”

“…Saccharibacteria”. qPCR experiments were then performed using the same salivary DNA samples from children suffering from food allergy and matched controls, previously characterized by us using the V3-V4 16S metagenomics (D’Auria et al 2023). In that previous work, the oral microbiota of allergic children was found to be enriched in “ Ca.…”