The neonatal gut microbiota: A role in the encephalopathy of prematurity
Preterm birth correlates with brain dysmaturation and neurocognitive impairment. The gut microbiome associates with behavioral outcomes in typical development, but its relationship with neurodevelopment in preterm infants is unknown. We characterize fecal microbiome in a cohort of 147 neonates enriched for very preterm birth using 16S-based and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Delivery mode strongly correlates with the preterm microbiome shortly after birth. Low birth gestational age, infant sex assigned at birth, and antibiotics associate with microbiome composition at neonatal intensive care unit discharge. We integrate these data with term-equivalent structural and diffusion brain MRI. Bacterial community composition associates with MRI features of encephalopathy of prematurity. Particularly, abundances of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. correlate with microstructural parameters in deep and cortical gray matter. Metagenome functional capacity analyses suggest that these bacteria may interact with brain microstructure via tryptophan and propionate metabolism. This study indicates that the gut microbiome associates with brain development following preterm birth.
Authors
- David Q. Stoye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2444-3573)
- Justyna M. Binkowska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6485-1275)
- Debby Bogaert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2651-7000)
- Alan J. Quigley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9809-4583)
- Michael J. Thrippleton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7858-9917)
- Mark E. Bastin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0490-0845)
- Manuel Blesa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5665-4105)
- Gemma Sullivan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1499-3536)
- Kadi Vaher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0733-2505)
- James P. Boardman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3904-8960)
- Paula Lusarreta Parga
- Amy Corrigan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9945-8251)
- Mari-Lee Odendaal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3601-4067)
- Gina J van Beveren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3373-804X)
Institutions
- Royal Hospital for Children (GB)
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (NL)
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (GB)
- MRC Centre for Reproductive Health (GB)
- Centre for Inflammation Research (GB)
- Wilhelmina Children's Hospital (NL)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell Reports Medicine
- Published
- 2024-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101845
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Neonatal and fetal brain pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.76
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Medical Research Council