Microbial Interactions with Protein Intake and Preterm Infant Body Composition: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized...

Enteral protein supplementation improves preterm infant growth and may impact body composition and the gut microbiota.

This study aimed to identify the effects of additional enteral protein supplementation on the gut microbiota and microbial and clinical drivers of body composition.

Secondary analysis of a masked randomized trial of additional enteral protein vs. standard fortification in preterm infants born at 25 to 28 weeks of gestation (NCT03586102) was conducted. Stool samples at weeks 4 and 8 underwent 16S rRNA sequencing; functional potential was predicted by Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt2). Body composition was measured by air-displacement plethysmography at 36 wk postmenstrual age (PMA). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression with multivariable linear regression identified body composition predictors.

Among 46 infants, gestational age (P = 0.16) and sex (P = 0.55) did not differ between groups. The protein group had higher week 4 Shannon diversity than standard fortification (median 1.2 vs. 0.87, P = 0.049). Week 4 Shannon diversity was positively correlated with fat-free mass z-score at 36 wk PMA (r² = 0.34, P = 0.02). Adjusting for covariates, the protein group had higher Peptoniphilus (β = 1.6, P_adj = 0.10) and lower Vibrio centered log-ratio abundance (β = -0.98, P_adj = 0.10); 62 predicted metabolic pathways were lower in the protein group (false discovery rate < 0.20). In combined LASSO models, Bacillus abundance at week 4 was the strongest predictor of fat-free mass z-score (β = -0.17, P < 0.001; R² = 0.80) and fat mass z-score (β = -0.31, P < 0.001; R² = 0.66).

Additional protein supplementation is associated with fat-free mass z-score and alterations to the gut microbiota. Clinical variables and microbial variables are key predictors of body composition, suggesting that nutrition, clinical factors, and the gut microbiota jointly contribute to body composition in extremely preterm infants. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03586102 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03586102 (registered in March 2020).