On the 29th, Professor Kim Hee-nam of the Korea University Department of Biosystems and Biomedical Science said that her research team has identified for the first time in the world that the causes of atopic dermatitis in infants lie in specific bacteria in the mother's gut and a lack of dietary fiber intake.
Atopic dermatitis is a condition that affects about 30% of the pediatric population worldwide. Previous research on atopic dermatitis has focused solely on skin tissue; however, recent studies have highlighted the imbalance of the gut microbiome as a major cause.
The research team found in previous studies that certain species of 'Ficākalibacterium,' a major gut bacterium, are abnormally present in children with atopic dermatitis, confirming that they may be involved in the development of the condition.
In this study, it was demonstrated through experiments on mice that Ficākalibacterium can indeed induce skin symptoms. When the bacteria were injected into the mother, a systemic inflammatory response occurred, and more severe systemic inflammation was observed in the newborn mice.
In particular, when mothers consumed feed deficient in dietary fiber, these harmful effects were amplified, leading to systemic inflammation as well as skin lesions. This indicates that the imbalance of the mother's gut microbiome and dietary fiber deficiency can increase the risk of atopic dermatitis in offspring.
Professor Kim Hee-nam, who led the study, noted that 'this research has elucidated for the first time in the world the process by which maternal gut microbiome imbalance leads to disease onset in children' and added, 'Based on this, we can lay the groundwork for precise diagnosis and the development of tailored treatments, which will be a turning point in the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis.'
The research findings were published online in the international journal 'Microbiome' in the field of medical science on the 29th.
References
Microbiome (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-025-02194-8