Biology subjects

Perasto, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Perasto, L..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Temporal Associations Between Human Milk Metabolites and the Infant Gut Microbiome and metabolome

IntroductionHuman milk is vital in establishing a healthy infant gut microbiome. Gut microbes and their metabolites are important for host development. However, our understanding of how milk metabolites are connected to the gut microbiome and metabolome in early-life remains limited. We aimed to investigate associations between the human milk metabolome and the gut microbiome in infancy. MethodsThe fecal and milk samples were collected at 2.5 (n=283), 6 (n=129) and 14 (n=65) months of age. Gut microbiota was analyzed with amplicon sequencing, the gut metabolome was analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and milk metabolites were analyzed with proton nuclear magnetic resonance. ResultsBifidobacterium and other butyrate producers were associated with ethanolamine and methionine level in the milk, in a time-dependent manner. Elevated milk fucosylated oligosaccharide, LNFP-I and caprylate concentrations were positively associated with secondary bile acid levels following the introduction of solid foods. Additionally, acidic oligosaccharides 3-SL and 6-SL were positively associated with long-chain carbohydrates prior to solid food introduction, however negatively associated thereafter. ConclusionOur results highlight that milk metabolites are associated with biologically relevant gut microbial metabolites. Only limited associations were observed between milk composition and the microbiome, which differed between early and late infancy. This suggests milk metabolome may differentially influence microbial metabolism depending on dietary diversity and/or the maturity of the microbiome. ImportanceIts essential to raise awareness about breastfeeding and its variety of health benefits. Expanding our understanding of how human milk small molecules with potential bioactivity interact with the gut microbiome can help highlight these positive effects. Exploratory studies of human milk composition with gut microbial metabolites may support achieving this goal. Furthermore, understanding of biological effects of different components in human milk is important, and it can help to develop strategies to ensure optimal growth and development of an infant regardless of the breastfeeding status of the child.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Faecal transplantation from exuberant toddlers increases exploratory behaviour in rats

BackgroundBehavioural phenotypes have previously been transferred via faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from patients with psychiatric disorders to rodents. Studies indicate that the gut microbiota composition may be linked to certain temperament traits, defined as biologically-based differences in emotional reactivity and self-regulation. Here, we aimed to determine if the gut microbiota plays a role in temperament using an FMT approach. We focused on the temperament traits of exuberance, defined as positive reactivity, decreased behavioural inhibition, and high behavioural approach tendencies. MethodsFaeces from 2.5-year-old toddlers from FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study with high exuberance/approach or high behavioural inhibition in the LabTAB bubbles-episode was transferred to juvenile male Sprague Dawley rats (age 22/23 days). Behaviour of the rat recipients (n=53) was assessed using the novel non-social arena, novel social arena, hole board test for exploratory behaviour, social approach-avoidance test, and forced swim test. The faecal pellets collected from the rodents were analyzed with 16s rRNA sequencing and faecal samples from the sample of toddlers (which included the donors, n=176) were analysed using short-read metagenomic sequencing. The striatum and prefrontal cortex from the rodents brains were analysed post-mortem using RNAseq. ResultsMicrobiome from toddlers with high exuberance traits induced increased exploratory behaviour compared to vehicle-controls and rats receiving faeces from inhibited toddlers. Locomotor activity, social, and depressive-like behaviour remained unaffected. We noted a downregulation of the dopamine synapse pathway within the striatum of the rats that received faeces from the inhibited trait donors compared with vehicle-controls. Faecal microbiota of rats receiving faeces from the same donor resembled more each other than rats from a different cage. Clostridium species AM29 11AC in toddler microbiome was positively related to exuberance, but there were no cross-sectional associations between faecal metabolites in the human sample. ConclusionsFMT from exuberant toddlers lead to altered exploratory-related behaviour in rats.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Parental childhood maltreatment associates with offspring left amygdala volume at early infancy

BackgroundChildhood maltreatment exposure (CME) and related trauma could be considered some of psychiatrys greatest public health challenges. CME and early adversity have been associated with increased amygdala volume in exposed individuals. Emerging evidence implies that CME could also affect prenatal development of the offspring. MethodsAs part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, we measured bilateral amygdala volumes from MR images in 76 healthy infants at 2-5 weeks of gestation corrected age and obtained the Trauma and Distress Scale (TADS) questionnaire from both parents. The associations between neonatal amygdala volumes and TADS scores were examined in stepwise regression models. ResultsWe found that maternal CME associated positively with infant left amygdala volume (p = .045) while the positive association for the paternal trauma score was only marginally significant (p = .099). Similar associations were not observed for the right amygdala. In the exploratory analyses, we used age ranges (0-6, 7-12, and 13-18 years) as estimate of the timing of the CME and included all three time points from both parents using left amygdala volume into the stepwise regression models. We found that maternal TADS scores from 13-18 years of age associated positively with infant left amygdala volumes (p = .008). Correspondingly, paternal TADS scores from 0-6 years of age associated positively with the infant left amygdala volumes (p = .014). ConclusionsOur link the infant offspring amygdala volume with parental CME with some agreement with prior findings, and they also imply links paternal CME to infant amygdala volumes. Amygdala is one of the key brain structures associated with both early life exposures and later psychiatric health, which makes it crucially important to elucidate both the underlying mechanisms and the later relevance of these associations in future studies.

neuroscience↗