Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Neonatology, Isala Women and Children's Hospital, Dokter van Heesweg 2, 8025 AB Zwolle, The Netherlands.
Nutrients. 2021 Sep 28;13(10):3430. doi: 10.3390/nu13103430.
The nutritional requirements of preterm infants are challenging to meet in neonatal care, yet crucial for their growth, development and health. Aberrant maturation of the gastrointestinal tract and the microbiota could affect the digestion of human milk and its nutritional value considerably. Therefore, the main objective of the proposed research is to investigate how the intestinal microbiota of preterm and full-term infants differ in their ability to extract energy and nutrients from oligosaccharides and glycoproteins in human milk. This pilot study will be an observational, single-center study performed at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Isala Women and Children's Hospital (Zwolle, The Netherlands). A cohort of thirty mother-infant pairs (preterm ≤30 weeks of gestation, = 15; full-term 37-42 weeks of gestation, = 15) will be followed during the first six postnatal weeks with follow-up at three- and six-months postnatal age. We will collect human milk of all mothers, gastric aspirates of preterm infants and fecal samples of all infants. A combination of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, proteomics, peptidomics, carbohydrate analysis and calorimetric measurements will be performed. The role of the microbiota in infant growth and development is often overlooked yet offers opportunities to advance neonatal care. The 'From Mum to Bum' study is the first study in which the effect of a preterm gut microbiota composition on its metabolic capacity and subsequent infant growth and development is investigated. By collecting human milk of all mothers, gastric aspirates of preterm infants and fecal samples of all infants at each timepoint, we can follow digestion of human milk from the breast of the mother throughout the gastrointestinal tract of the infant, or 'From Mum to Bum'.
早产儿的营养需求在新生儿护理中难以满足，但对其生长、发育和健康至关重要。胃肠道和微生物组的异常成熟可能会极大地影响人乳的消化和营养价值。因此，拟议研究的主要目的是研究早产儿和足月儿的肠道微生物组在从人乳中的寡糖和糖蛋白中提取能量和营养物质的能力方面有何不同。这项初步研究将是一项在 Isala 妇女和儿童医院（荷兰兹沃勒）新生儿重症监护病房进行的观察性、单中心研究。将在出生后的前六周内对三十对母婴（早产儿≤30 孕周， = 15；足月儿 37-42 孕周， = 15）进行随访，并在出生后 3 个月和 6 个月时进行随访。我们将收集所有母亲的人乳、早产儿的胃抽吸物和所有婴儿的粪便样本。将进行 16S rRNA 扩增子测序、蛋白质组学、肽组学、碳水化合物分析和量热测量的组合。微生物组在婴儿生长和发育中的作用经常被忽视，但为新生儿护理的发展提供了机会。“从妈妈到屁股”研究是第一项研究，旨在研究早产儿肠道微生物组组成对其代谢能力以及随后的婴儿生长和发育的影响。通过在每个时间点收集所有母亲的人乳、早产儿的胃抽吸物和所有婴儿的粪便样本，我们可以从母亲的乳房开始，跟踪人乳在婴儿胃肠道中的消化情况，即“从妈妈到屁股”。
