# Gut Microbiome Dynamics in Peanut Allergy

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $824,672

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Peanut allergy affects 2-5% of US children and 1% of the overall US population. Growing evidence supports a
role for gut microbiota in the pathobiology of food allergy. Our group identified differential gut microbiota in
children with egg allergy vs. controls, and we identified gut microbiota associated with the later resolution of
milk allergy. Gut microbiomes may differ by food allergen. There has been no study of the gut microbiome in
well-phenotyped peanut allergic subjects. Our central hypothesis is that gut microbiota shape the development
and resolution of peanut allergy. We will leverage longitudinal samples and complementary data from two
NIAID-funded cohorts led by us to characterize gut microbiome dynamics in the development and resolution of
peanut allergy. Prior cross-sectional studies leave unclear whether dysbiosis precedes or follows food allergy
onset. In Aim 1, we will use next-generation sequencing to profile the gut microbiome over time and assess its
relationship to the development of peanut allergy. Participants of the CoFAR Observational Study enrolled as
infants with high atopic risk. None had peanut allergy at enrollment, while 40.1% now do. Using banked stool
from infancy and mid-childhood, we will identify gut microbiome characteristics at infancy that are risk factors
for the development of peanut allergy, and longitudinal changes to the gut microbiome that characterize peanut
allergy development. In Aim 2, we will identify the relationship between gut microbiome and the resolution of
peanut allergy. We will study peanut allergic children enrolled in a desensitization study, of whom peanut
allergy is expected to resolve in 32.5%. We will use next-generation sequencing to profile stool collected
longitudinally to identify gut microbiome characteristics at baseline, and changes through desensitization, that
are associated with peanut allergy resolution. Gut microbiota exert immunologic influence through metabolites
(e.g. short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)) they produce. In Aim 3, we will measure targeted SCFA and global
metabolome to identify metabolites that are cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with peanut allergy
resolution. We will then apply systems biology methods to (1) decipher causal relationships between
microbiome, metabolome, and host, and (2) identify causal key drivers of peanut allergy resolution. The dual
gut microbiome and gut metabolome data generated on well-phenotyped peanut allergic subjects by this study,
along with parallel host transcriptome data that we will have from U19 AI136053, offer an unprecedented
opportunity to develop data-driven mechanistic models for peanut allergy. This study will enable direct
progress toward defining the role of the gut microbiome in peanut allergy through an innovative, integrated
examination of microbiome, metabolome, and host transcriptome. Results will include the first human data on
the gut microbiome in peanut allergy develo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9989768
- **Project number:** 5R01AI147028-02
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Supinda Bunyavanich
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $824,672
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-06 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9989768

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9989768, Gut Microbiome Dynamics in Peanut Allergy (5R01AI147028-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9989768. Licensed CC0.

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