Infant diet shapes gut–host immunity
Breast- vs formula-fed infants differ in gut microbiota and host immune gene expression.
Source
A metagenomic study of diet-dependent interaction between gut microbiota and host in infants reveals differences in immune response
What they did
Sequenced stool metagenomes and profiled host epithelial mRNA from 6 breast-fed and 6 formula-fed infants, then correlated taxa/genes with host transcripts.
What they found
Diet altered Firmicutes/Actinobacteria composition; 459 intestinal and 660 immunity genes were tested, with many differentially expressed between diets.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Small n; association does not prove which microbes cause each transcript change.
Key terms
- Metagenome
- Collective microbial DNA from a community.
- Breast-fed (BF)
- Infants fed human milk.
- Formula-fed (FF)
- Infants fed formula.
- Host transcriptome
- Gene expression of shed gut epithelial cells.
- Actinobacteria
- Phylum often enriched in infant guts.
- FDR
- False discovery rate multiple-testing control.
Flashcards
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BF/FF n:
Common questions
Infants per diet?
Six BF and six FF.
Intestinal gene set size?
459.
Immunity gene set size?
660.
Key contrast?
Diet-linked microbiota and host immune transcripts.
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