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Published on: April 28, 2016
Factors influencing the gut microbiome in children: from infancy to childhood
Shreyas V Kumbhare1, Dhrati V V Patangia, Ravindra H Patil
1National Centre for Cell Science, Savitribai Phule University of Pune Campus, Pune, Maharashtra 411007, India.
Insights
The early life human microbiota is crucial for immune development and overall health. Understanding factors influencing its composition can help prevent diseases like asthma and obesity.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- The human microbiota is vital for immune system education and host health from birth.
- Early life gut microflora is dynamic, stabilizing by age 3-4.
- Microbial dysbiosis is linked to metabolic (obesity, diabetes) and immune disorders (asthma).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review factors influencing fetal, infant, and childhood microbial composition.
- To understand the early life microbial community for health strategies.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on maternal, environmental, and infant factors.
- Analysis of microbial community dynamics in early life stages.
Main Results:
- Maternal factors, vertical/horizontal transmission, and infant-internal factors significantly modulate gut microbiota.
- Early microbial colonization patterns impact long-term health outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Understanding early life microbial development is key to preventing dysbiosis-related diseases.
- Targeting microbial composition can lead to novel health interventions.
Abstract:
The human microbiota plays a crucial role in educating the immune system and influencing host health right since birth. Various maternal factors along with the vertical microbial transfer from the mother, as well as the horizontal environmental transmission and internal factors relating to the infant, play a crucial role in modulating the gut microbiota. The early life microflora is highly unstable and undergoes dynamic changes during the first few years, converging towards a more stabilized adult microbiota by co-evolving with the host by the age of 3-4 years. Microbiota studies have underlined the role of dysbiosis in developing several metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes and immune-related disorders like asthma, to name a few. Thus, understanding early life microbial composition and various factors affecting the microbial community will provide a platform for developing strategies/techniques to maintain host health by restoring gut microbial flora. This review focuses on the factors that affect the microbial composition of the foetus in utero, during birth, infancy through childhood.
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