Influence of the Infant Feeding on the Taxonomy of the Gut Microbiome and the Trefoil Factors Level in Children and Adolescents

Changes in the gut microbiome are recognized as an important component of obesity in both adults and children. One factor in the gut microbiome formation is the infant feeding type, which may also have a prolonged effect on the microbial community. Breast milk contributes to the formation of mucosal tolerance to the intestinal microbiota. In turn, trefoil factors (TFF2 and TFF3) are important components of the mucosal barrier. The aim was to study the composition of the gut microbiota and the trefoil factors level in the blood of children and adolescents with obesity, depending on the infant feeding type. The study included 93 non-obese children (Group 1) and 92 obese children (Group 2). Serum TFF2 and TFF3 levels were determined by enzyme immunoassay in each study participant. The taxonomic composition of the fecal microbiome was determined by metagenomic sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. In general, the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiota in Groups 1 and 2 was similar. However, Group 2 had less by [Prevotella], Epulopiscium and Haemophilus and more by Clostridium and Catenibacterium. Neither obesity nor the infant feeding type of influenced the serum concentration of TFF2 and TFF3. However, the infant feeding has a prolonged effect on the gut microbiota, and in Group 2 this effect was less pronounced. In Group 1, breastfeeding led to the formation of a complete mucosal tolerance to the microbiome, which did not occur with mixed and bottle feeding. In Group 2, most of the “TFFs–gut microbiome” associations were positive, indicating an unfavorable interaction between intestinal wall and microbiome in obese children and adolescents. Thus, infant feeding type seems to be a weak but significant factor in the gut microbiome formation in children and adolescents, which also affects the formation of mucosal tolerance to the intestinal microbiota.