The neonatal gut microbiota: a role in the encephalopathy of prematurity

Kadi Vaher, Manuel Blesa Cabez, Paula Lusarreta Parga, Justyna Binkowska, Gina J van Beveren, Mari-Lee Odendaal, Gemma Sullivan, David Q Stoye, Amy Corrigan, Alan J Quigley, Michael J Thrippleton, Mark E. Bastin, Debby Bogaert, James P Boardman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101845
JournalCell Reports Medicine
Volume5
Issue number12
Early online date4 Dec 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Dec 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • brain MRI
  • encephalopathy of prematurity
  • gut microbiome
  • gut-brain modules
  • microbiome-gut-brain axis
  • neonate
  • preterm

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