Infant gut microbiota and negative and fear reactivity

BACKGROUND

Studies indicate that gut microbiota is related to neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Accordingly, early gut microbiota composition (GMC) has been linked to child temperament, but research is still scarce. The aim of this study was to examine how early GMC at 2.5 months is associated with child negative and fear reactivity at 8 and 12 months since they are potentially important intermediate phenotypes of later child psychiatric disorders.

METHODS

Our study population was 330 infants enrolled in the longitudinal FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed using stool sample 16s rRNA sequencing. Negative and fear reactivity were assessed using the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) at child's age of 8 months (n =150) and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (IBQ-R SF) at child's age of 12 months (n = 276).

CONCLUSIONS

We found a positive association between alpha diversity and reported fear reactivity and differing microbial community composition based on negative reactivity for boys. Isobutyric acid correlated with observed negative reactivity, however, this association attenuated in the linear model. Several genera were associated with the selected infant temperament traits. This study adds to the growing literature on links between infant gut microbiota and temperament informing future mechanistic studies.

Linking Gut Microbiome and Lipid Metabolism: Moving beyond Associations

Various studies aiming to elucidate the role of the gut microbiome-metabolome co-axis in health and disease have primarily focused on water-soluble polar metabolites, whilst non-polar microbial lipids have received less attention. The concept of microbiota-dependent lipid biotransformation is over a century old. However, only recently, several studies have shown how microbial lipids alter intestinal and circulating lipid concentrations in the host, thus impacting human lipid homeostasis. There is emerging evidence that gut microbial communities play a particularly significant role in the regulation of host cholesterol and sphingolipid homeostasis. Here, we review and discuss recent research focusing on microbe-host-lipid co-metabolism. We also discuss the interplay of human gut microbiota and molecular lipids entering host systemic circulation, and its role in health and disease.