Synbiotic supplementation leads to gut microbiome communities with functional capacity linked to better brain white matter development in preterm infants.
Anna Voulgari-Kokota, Els Janson, Ineke Heikamp de Jong et al.
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In 30 seconds
This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial examined whether daily synbiotic and nutritional supplementation could shape gut microbiome function in very and extremely preterm infants, and how those functions related to brain maturation. Longitudinal metagenomic profiling and term-equivalent MRI showed that supplementation promoted early Bifidobacterium-rich communities with greater capacity for amino acid biosynthesis and pyruvate fermentation to acetate and lactate. Post hoc analyses found these functions were markedly reduced in infants with delayed white-matter myelination. The findings link microbiome functional capacity with white-matter development but do not establish that the microbial changes caused improved brain maturation.
Key findings
- Supplementation promoted early establishment of Bifidobacterium-rich gut communities in the test group.
- Supplemented infants’ microbiomes showed enhanced capacity for amino acid biosynthesis and pyruvate fermentation toward acetate and lactate production.
- The same microbial functions were markedly reduced in infants with delayed white-matter myelination.
Why it matters
The results connect early gut microbial function with MRI markers of brain maturation in very and extremely preterm infants. They suggest that microbiome development may be relevant to white-matter development and provide a rationale for further study of microbial modulation as a potential neurodevelopmental strategy, while the post hoc associations do not establish a causal pathway.
What to keep in mind
This was a secondary, post hoc analysis; the reported links between microbial functions and white-matter myelination do not establish causation.