Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
07:18
Oral Gavage in Neonatal Mouse Pups and Functional Assessment of Gut Barrier Integrity Using Ussing Chambers
Published on: January 9, 2026
441
The Gut in Early Life-Postnatal Challenges.
Marc Alexander Benninga1, Karl-Herbert Schäfer2, Hugues Piloquet3
1Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 4, 2026
Summary
Neonatal development involves significant physiological changes influenced by diet, environment, and genetics. Establishing a healthy gut microbiota is crucial for infant development, impacting metabolism, immunity, and the gut-brain axis.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development and microbiome research.
- Gut-brain axis.
- Microbiome modulation.
Background:
- Neonatal development is characterized by rapid physiological changes.
- The gut microbiota plays a critical role in nutrient metabolism, immune function, growth, and the gut-brain axis.
- Early life is a critical window for establishing a healthy infant microbiome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review challenges in defining a "normal" neonatal microbiota.
- To discuss modifiable external factors influencing early-life microbiome development.
- To explore new approaches for targeted microbiome modulation in infants.
Main Methods:
- Review of current research on neonatal development and microbiome.
- Analysis of factors influencing gut microbiota establishment.
- Discussion of advancements in sequencing technologies for microbiome characterization.
Main Results:
- A healthy, symbiotic gut microbiota is essential for normal infant development.
- Term-born, exclusively breastfed infants not exposed to antibiotics serve as a "gold standard" for microbiota development.
- Advances in sequencing enable strain-level identification and personalized microbiome modulation strategies.
Conclusions:
- Defining a "normal" neonatal microbiota remains challenging.
- External factors, including diet and antibiotic exposure, significantly impact early-life microbiome development.
- Targeted microbiome modulation holds promise for supporting healthy infant development, including for formula-fed infants.
Keywords:
disorders of gut–brain interactionearly lifegastrointestinal tractgut microbiotagut–brain axishealthy developmenthuman milkprebioticsprobioticMore Related Videos
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