TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of iron supplementation on the preterm neonatal gut microbiome
T2 - A pilot study
AU - VanOrmer, Matthew
AU - Thompson, Maranda
AU - Thoene, Melissa
AU - Riethoven, Jean Jack
AU - Natarajan, Sathish Kumar
AU - Hanson, Corrine
AU - Anderson-Berr, Ann
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 VanOrmer et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Objective The gastrointestinal microbiome in preterm infants exhibits significant influence on optimal outcomes-with dysbiosis shown to substantially increase the risk of the life-threatening necrotizing enterocolitis. Iron is a vital nutrient especially during the perinatal window of rapid hemoglobin production, tissue growth, and foundational neurodevelopment. However, excess colonic iron exhibits potent oxidation capacity and alters the gut microbiome-potentially facilitating the proliferation of pathological bacterial strains. Breastfed preterm infants routinely receive iron supplementation starting 14 days after delivery and are highly vulnerable to morbidities associated with gastrointestinal dysbiosis. Therefore, we set out to determine if routine iron supplementation alters the preterm gut microbiome. Methods After IRB approval, we collected stool specimens from 14 infants born <34 weeks gestation in the first, second, and fourth week of life to assess gut microbiome composition via 16S rRNA sequencing. Results We observed no significant differences in either phyla or key genera relative abundance between pre- and post-iron timepoints. We observed notable shifts in infant microbiome composition based on season of delivery. Conclusion Though no obvious indication of iron-induced dysbiosis was observed in this unique study in the setting of prematurity, further investigation in a larger sample is warranted to fully understand iron's impact on the gastrointestinal milieu.
AB - Objective The gastrointestinal microbiome in preterm infants exhibits significant influence on optimal outcomes-with dysbiosis shown to substantially increase the risk of the life-threatening necrotizing enterocolitis. Iron is a vital nutrient especially during the perinatal window of rapid hemoglobin production, tissue growth, and foundational neurodevelopment. However, excess colonic iron exhibits potent oxidation capacity and alters the gut microbiome-potentially facilitating the proliferation of pathological bacterial strains. Breastfed preterm infants routinely receive iron supplementation starting 14 days after delivery and are highly vulnerable to morbidities associated with gastrointestinal dysbiosis. Therefore, we set out to determine if routine iron supplementation alters the preterm gut microbiome. Methods After IRB approval, we collected stool specimens from 14 infants born <34 weeks gestation in the first, second, and fourth week of life to assess gut microbiome composition via 16S rRNA sequencing. Results We observed no significant differences in either phyla or key genera relative abundance between pre- and post-iron timepoints. We observed notable shifts in infant microbiome composition based on season of delivery. Conclusion Though no obvious indication of iron-induced dysbiosis was observed in this unique study in the setting of prematurity, further investigation in a larger sample is warranted to fully understand iron's impact on the gastrointestinal milieu.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0297558
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0297558
M3 - Article
C2 - 38381745
AN - SCOPUS:85185611995
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 19
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 2 FEBRUARY
M1 - e0297558
ER -