Interactions between fecal gut microbiome, enteric pathogens, and energy regulating hormones among acutely malnourished rural Gambian children

Helen Nabwera, Josh L. Espinoza, Archibald Worwui, Modupeh Betts, Catherine Okoi, Abdul K. Sesay, Rowan Bancroft, Schadrac C. Agbla, Sheikh Jarju, Richard S. Bradbury, Mariama Colley, Amadou T. Jallow, Jie Liu, Eric R. Houpt, Andrew M. Prentice, Martin Antonio, Robin M. Bernstein, Christopher L. Dupont, Brenda Kwambana

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background

The specific roles that gut microbiota, known pathogens, and host energy-regulating hormones play in the pathogenesis of non-edematous severe acute malnutrition (marasmus SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) during outpatient nutritional rehabilitation are yet to be explored.

Methods

We applied an ensemble of sample-specific (intra- and inter-modality) association networks to gain deeper insights into the pathogenesis of acute malnutrition and its severity among children under 5 years of age in rural Gambia, where marasmus SAM is most prevalent.

Findings

Children with marasmus SAM have distinct microbiome characteristics and biologically-relevant multimodal biomarkers not observed among children with moderate acute malnutrition. Marasmus SAM was characterized by lower microbial richness and biomass, significant enrichments in Enterobacteriaceae, altered interactions between specific Enterobacteriaceae and key energy regulating hormones and their receptors.

Interpretation

Our findings suggest that marasmus SAM is characterized by the collapse of a complex system with nested interactions and key associations between the gut microbiome, enteric pathogens, and energy regulating hormones. Further exploration of these systems will help inform innovative preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103644
Pages (from-to)e103644
JournaleBioMedicine
Volume73
Early online date22 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2021

Keywords

  • Community detection
  • Enteric pathogens
  • Escherichia-Shigella
  • Feature selection
  • Gut microbiome
  • Malnutrition
  • Network analysis
  • West Africa

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