daniel buenoExposure to dog-associated house dust can alter the composition of the community of microbes – or microbiome – that lives within the human intestine and protects against allergies and asthma, according to a study by scientists in the United States and Canada (PNAS, December 2013). Earlier, the authors of the paper had found that children who live in houses with dogs have less of a tendency to develop allergies in their childhood than children who live in houses with no pets. The scientists later found that the dust collected from households with dogs contained a greater variety of bacteria than the dust found in pet-free homes. They have now shown that dog-associated house dust helps ward off allergic inflammation. Young mice that were fed dust samples from houses with dogs exhibited greater protection against cockroach allergens (allergy-causing substances) as compared to mice that were fed on dust from dog-free homes. Specifically, the scientists found that dog-associated house dust changed the microbiome in the gut, increasing the population of the bacterium Lactobacillus johnsonii. The animals that received L. johnsonii displayed a milder allergic reaction when exposed to cockroach allergens or to respiratory syncytial virus, two risk factors for asthma in children. If the results can be applied to humans, the experts believe this study may lead to new treatment options for allergies and lung infections.
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