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Am J Perinatol 2021; 38(11): 1181-1191
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1710559
Original Article

Ongoing Supplementation of Probiotics to Cesarean-Born Neonates during the First Month of Life may Impact the Gut Microbial

Wenqing Yang
1   Department of Neonatal Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
2   China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
3   Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
4   Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
,
Liang Tian
4   Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
,
Jiao Luo
4   Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
,
Jialin Yu
1   Department of Neonatal Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
2   China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
3   Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
› Author Affiliations Funding The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81370744, No. 81571483), Doctoral Degree Funding from Chinese Ministry of Education (No. 20135503110009), State key clinic discipline project (No. 2011-873), and Clinical Research Foundation of Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University ((2014)254-lcyj2014-11).
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Abstract

Objective The delivery mode is considered to be a significant influencing factor in the early gut microbiota composition, which is associated with the long-term health of the host. In this study, we tried to explore the effects of probiotics on the intestinal microbiota of C-section neonates.

Study Design Twenty-six Chinese neonates were enrolled in this study. The neonates were divided into four groups: VD (natural delivery neonates, n = 3), CD (cesarean-born neonates, n = 9), CDL (cesarean-born neonates supplemented with probiotic at a lower dosage, n = 7), and CDH (cesarean-born neonates supplemented with probiotic at a higher dosage, n = 7). Fecal samples were collected on the 3rd, 7th, and 28th day since birth. The V3–V4 region of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene was sequenced by next-generation sequencing technology.

Results The α-diversity of the intestinal microbiota of cesarean delivery neonates was significantly lower than that of the naturally delivered neonates on the 28th day (p = 0.005). After supplementation with probiotics for 28 days, the α-diversity and the β-diversity of the gut flora in the cesarean-born infants (CDL28 and CDH28) was similar to that in the vaginally delivery infants. Meanwhile, the abundances of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were significantly increased since the 3rd day of probiotic supplementation. Besides, the sustained supplementation of probiotics to neonates would help improve the abundance of the operational taxonomic units in several different Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins.

Conclusion This study showed that probiotics supplementation to cesarean-born neonates since birth might impact the diversity and function of gut microbiota.

Key Points

  • Cesarean-born neonates

  • Probiotic supplementation impact gut flora

  • Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus

Keywords

neonates - cesarean - probiotics - intestinal microbiota - 16S rRNA

Ethical Approval

This project was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (2017–157), and informed consent was obtained from parents.


Note

The data sets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.


Authors' Contributions

W.Y. and J.Y. conceived the study design. J.L. was responsible for the recruitment and collection of samples. W.Y. and L.T. performed the data analysis and completed the initial manuscript. J.Y. revised the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 23 September 2019

Accepted: 13 April 2020

Article published online:
23 May 2020

© 2020. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

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