Evolution of the Gut Microbiome in HIV-Exposed Uninfected and Unexposed Infants during the First Year of Life
Conner Jackson, Daniel N. Frank, Charles E. Robertson, Diana Ir, Jennifer M. Kofonow, Mahlodi P. Montlha, Eleonora A.M.L. Mutsaerts, Marta C. Nunes, Shabir A. Madhi, Debashis Ghosh, Adriana Weinberg
Abstract
HIV-exposed uninfected infants (HEU) are highly vulnerable to infections in the first 6 months of life, and this vulnerability decreases to the age of 24 months. Because the microbiome plays a critical role in the education of the infant immune system, which protects them against infections, we characterized the gut microbiomes of HEU and HIV-unexposed infants (HUU) in the first year of life. The HEU and HUU gut microbiomes showed prominent differences at 6 and 28 weeks of life but converged at 62 weeks of life, mirroring the time course of the HEU excess infectious morbidity and suggesting a potential association between the infant gut microbiome structure and susceptibility to infections. Infant gut microbiotas extensively overlapped with maternal gut and minimally with breast milk microbiotas. Moreover, exclusively breastfed HEU and HUU had less divergent microbiomes at 6 and 28 weeks than nonexclusively breastfed HEU and HUU. The factors that affect the HEU gut microbiome, maternal gut microbiome and exclusive breastfeeding, may be targeted by interventions.