Pammi Mohan, O'Brien Jacqueline L, Ajami Nadim J, Wong Matthew C, Versalovic James, Petrosino Joseph F
Section of Neonatology, Dept. of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States of America.
Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research and Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2017 Apr 27;12(4):e0176669. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176669. eCollection 2017.
Neonatal sepsis in preterm infants is often due to organisms that colonize the skin including Staphylococcus spp. and Candida spp. Development and maturation of the skin microbiome in the neonatal period, especially in preterm infants, may be critical in preventing colonization with pathogens and subsequent progression to neonatal sepsis. Development of the skin microbiome in preterm infants or its determinants in the first 4 weeks of life has not been evaluated.
We evaluated the skin microbiome from three body sites, antecubital fossa, forehead and gluteal region, in a prospective cohort of 15 preterm (birth weight < 1500 g and < 32 weeks of gestation) and 15 term neonates. The microbiome community membership and relative abundance were evaluated by amplification and sequencing the bacterial V3-V5 region of the16S rRNA gene on the 454 GS FLX platform. We used linear mixed effects models to analyze longitudinal data.
The structure and composition of the skin microbiome did not differ between the three sampling sites for term and preterm infants in the neonatal period. However, skin bacterial richness was positively associated with gestational age in the first four weeks of life. Intravenous antibiotics negatively impacted the bacterial diversity of the skin but we did not see differences with respect to feeding or mode of delivery.
Gestational age, which influences the maturity of skin structure and function, is associated with the development of the preterm cutaneous microbiome. Understanding the maturation of a healthy skin microbiome, prevention of pathogen colonization and its role in the development of immunity will be pivotal in the development of novel interventions to prevent infections in critically ill preterm infants.
早产儿的新生儿败血症通常由定植于皮肤的微生物引起，包括葡萄球菌属和念珠菌属。新生儿期尤其是早产儿皮肤微生物群的发育和成熟，对于预防病原体定植及随后发展为新生儿败血症可能至关重要。尚未评估早产儿皮肤微生物群的发育情况或其在出生后4周内的决定因素。
我们对15例早产儿（出生体重<1500g且胎龄<32周）和15例足月儿的前瞻性队列，评估了三个身体部位（肘前窝、前额和臀区）的皮肤微生物群。通过在454 GS FLX平台上对16S rRNA基因的细菌V3-V5区域进行扩增和测序，评估微生物群落成员和相对丰度。我们使用线性混合效应模型分析纵向数据。
新生儿期足月儿和早产儿的三个采样部位的皮肤微生物群结构和组成没有差异。然而，出生后前四周皮肤细菌丰富度与胎龄呈正相关。静脉使用抗生素对皮肤细菌多样性有负面影响，但在喂养方式或分娩方式方面未发现差异。
影响皮肤结构和功能成熟的胎龄与早产儿皮肤微生物群的发育有关。了解健康皮肤微生物群的成熟过程、预防病原体定植及其在免疫发育中的作用，对于开发预防危重症早产儿感染的新干预措施至关重要。
