Effect of maternal HIV status on the early neonatal microbiome

Microbiome disruption is a proposed mechanism for the observed differences in child health outcomes by maternal HIV status, but the early neonatal microbiome of HIV-exposed (HE) newborns is not well-studied. We used 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing to analyze the microbiome composition of nasal, skin, and rectal samples collected ≤72 h after birth from 57 hospitalized neonates in Botswana, 33% of whom were HE. Beta diversity differed by anatomic compartment (P = .001) and days since birth; however, interindividual differences were greater than those by anatomic site (P = .001). There were not significant differences by maternal HIV status. When timing of maternal HIV diagnosis was accounted for, however, we noted statistically significant differences in beta diversity for nasal and skin swabs. Microbial composition of samples from neonates with mothers diagnosed with HIV prior to pregnancy were more similar to samples from HIV-unexposed than HE neonates with mothers diagnosed with HIV during this pregnancy (P = .03 and P < .01 in skin and nasal, respectively) suggesting that microbiome variations mediated by HIV exposure might only emerge later in infancy. In the entire cohort, we examined differences in relative taxa abundance of neonatal pathogens and other species of clinical interest. We noted differences by anatomic compartment, for example, increased Klebsiella pneumoniae in rectal samples and increased Acinetobacter baumannii in nasal samples, whereas other pathogens expected to differ by body site did not, for example, Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus agalactiae, highlighting that in the early neonatal microbiome exposures may have a significant impact on microbiome development.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Published
2025-09-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piaf076
Citations
1
Primary Topic
HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.40

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article

Effect of maternal HIV status on the early neonatal microbiome

Kyle Bittinger, Moses Vurayai, Ceylan Tanes, Andrew P. Steenhoff et al.
1 citations
Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
1.40
article

Effect of maternal HIV status on the early neonatal microbiome

Kyle Bittinger, Moses Vurayai, Ceylan Tanes, Andrew P. Steenhoff, Jonathan Strysko, Weiming Hu, Alemayehu Mekonnen Gezmu, David A. Goldfarb, One Bayani, Susan Coffin, Melissa Richard‐Greenblatt, Paul J. Planet, Banno Moorad, Giacomo Maria Paganotti, Ahmed M. Moustafa, Morgan Zalot, Tonya Arscott‐Mills, Margaret Mokomane, Tichaona Machiya, M. Klinge Carolyn, Britt Nakstad, Mickael Boustany, Tefelo Thela, Steven J.M. Jones, Nametso Ntlhako, Ngwao Nwako
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Microbiome disruption is a proposed mechanism for the observed differences in child health outcomes by maternal HIV status, but the early neonatal microbiome of HIV-exposed (HE) newborns is not well-studied. We used 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing to analyze the microbiome composition of nasal, skin, and rectal samples collected ≤72 h after birth from 57 hospitalized neonates in Botswana, 33% of whom were HE. Beta diversity differed by anatomic compartment (P = .001) and days since birth; however, interindividual differences were greater than those by anatomic site (P = .001). There were not significant differences by maternal HIV status. When timing of maternal HIV diagnosis was accounted for, however, we noted statistically significant differences in beta diversity for nasal and skin swabs. Microbial composition of samples from neonates with mothers diagnosed with HIV prior to pregnancy were more similar to samples from HIV-unexposed than HE neonates with mothers diagnosed with HIV during this pregnancy (P = .03 and P < .01 in skin and nasal, respectively) suggesting that microbiome variations mediated by HIV exposure might only emerge later in infancy. In the entire cohort, we examined differences in relative taxa abundance of neonatal pathogens and other species of clinical interest. We noted differences by anatomic compartment, for example, increased Klebsiella pneumoniae in rectal samples and increased Acinetobacter baumannii in nasal samples, whereas other pathogens expected to differ by body site did not, for example, Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus agalactiae, highlighting that in the early neonatal microbiome exposures may have a significant impact on microbiome development.

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases SocietyVol. 14(10)
Oslo University Hospital (NO), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US), University of British Columbia (CA), University of Botswana (BW), University of Oslo (NO), University of Toronto (CA), Hospital for Sick Children (CA), Faculty (United Kingdom) (GB), Office of Infectious Diseases (US), Botswana Open University (BW), Faculty of Public Health (GB), Ministry of Health (BW), University of Pennsylvania (US)
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, National Institutes of Health, Center for AIDS Research, University of Washington
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
1.40
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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