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Bacterial Gut Microbiota and Infections During Early Childhood
Sergio George1, Ximena Aguilera2, Pablo Gallardo3
1Host-Pathogen Interaction Laboratory, Microbiology and Mycology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Insights
The early gut microbiota is shaped by various factors and interacts with infections in children. Understanding these dynamics is key to developing new treatments for childhood infections.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Early-life gut microbiota is dynamic, influenced by prenatal/postnatal factors like maternal antibiotics, delivery mode, diet, and infant feeding.
- The gut microbiota interacts bidirectionally with infectious agents, impacting host immunity.
- Dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut microbiota, is linked to conditions like necrotizing enterocolitis and *Clostridioides difficile* infection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review interactions between the bacterial microbiota and infectious agents in children up to 5 years of age.
- To focus on common gastrointestinal and respiratory infections and dysbiosis-related diseases.
- To highlight the need for a deeper understanding of the early microbiota-immunity-infection axis for developing preventive/therapeutic strategies.
Main Methods:
- Review of peer-reviewed studies on childhood bacterial microbiota.
- Analysis of cross-sectional and prospective studies on gut dysbiosis during infections.
- Inclusion of findings from animal models and intervention studies (e.g., probiotics, fecal transplantation).
Main Results:
- Cross-sectional studies often show gut dysbiosis patterns during childhood infections compared to healthy controls.
- Prospective studies indicate that most children recover a healthy microbiota status post-infection.
- Interventions like probiotics and fecal transplantation demonstrate the microbiota's role in modulating infections.
Conclusions:
- The early bacterial gut microbiota plays a crucial role in modulating enteric and respiratory infections in children.
- Further research into the mechanisms of early microbiota establishment and maintenance is essential.
- Enhanced understanding can lead to better preventive and therapeutic tools against significant childhood infections.
Abstract:
Gut microbiota composition during the first years of life is variable, dynamic and influenced by both prenatal and postnatal factors, such as maternal antibiotics administered during labor, delivery mode, maternal diet, breastfeeding, and/or antibiotic consumption during infancy. Furthermore, the microbiota displays bidirectional interactions with infectious agents, either through direct microbiota-microorganism interactions or indirectly through various stimuli of the host immune system. Here we review these interactions during childhood until 5 years of life, focusing on bacterial microbiota, the most common gastrointestinal and respiratory infections and two well characterized gastrointestinal diseases related to dysbiosis (necrotizing enterocolitis and Clostridioides difficile infection). To date, most peer-reviewed studies on the bacterial microbiota in childhood have been cross-sectional and have reported patterns of gut dysbiosis during infections as compared to healthy controls; prospective studies suggest that most children progressively return to a "healthy microbiota status" following infection. Animal models and/or studies focusing on specific preventive and therapeutic interventions, such as probiotic administration and fecal transplantation, support the role of the bacterial gut microbiota in modulating both enteric and respiratory infections. A more in depth understanding of the mechanisms involved in the establishment and maintenance of the early bacterial microbiota, focusing on specific components of the microbiota-immunity-infectious agent axis is necessary in order to better define potential preventive or therapeutic tools against significant infections in children.
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