A butyrate-producing live biotherapeutic prevents and treats food allergy in mice

Depletion of beneficial microbes by modern lifestyle factors correlates with the rising prevalenceof food allergy. Re-introduction of allergy-protective bacteria may be an effective treatmentstrategy. We have characterized the fecal microbiota of healthy and food allergic infants anddemonstrated that the anaerobe Anaerostipes caccae is representative of the protective capacityof the healthy microbiome. Here we report delivery of A. caccae as a biotherapeutic synbiotic tomice with dysbiotic microbiota. We isolated a strain of A. caccae from the feces of a healthyinfant and identified an optimal prebiotic for butyrate production in vitro. Administration of asynbiotic composed of A. caccae LAHUC and the prebiotic lactulose increased luminal butyratein gnotobiotic mice colonized with feces from an allergic infant, and in antibiotic-treated SPFmice. The synbiotic prevented and treated allergic responses to food in two models and microbialcontexts, suggesting a promising therapeutic approach for food allergy.