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Nutrition and Immunity in Early Childhood

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 July 2024) | Viewed by 12605

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sophia E. Tsabouri

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
Interests: nutrition; food allergy; immunity; pediatrics

Dr. Emilia Vassilopoulou

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy
3. Nous Therapy Center, 54621 Thessaloniki, Greece
4. The Center of Nutritional Psychology, San Jose, CA 95129, USA
Interests: food allergy/intolerance; immunomodulation and nutrition; gut–brain axis; nutritional psychiatry; inflammaging; food histamine; food proteins; diet; nutrition; eating disorders; immunity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Gavriela Maria Feketea

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Pediatrics, "Karamandaneio" Children's Hospital of Patra, 26331 Patras, Greece
2. Department of Pharmacology, “luliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
3. Pediatric Allergy Outpatient Clinic, Department of Pediatrics, Karamandanio Children’s Hospital, 26331 Patras, Greece
Interests: food allergy; atopic dermatitis; anaphylaxis; urticaria; pediatric allergy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The first 1000 days of life, including the intrauterine period, arise as a fundamental transitional period for the development of a healthy immune system. Specific nutrients and different dietary patterns appear pivotal for the development of the immune system. Together with the diet’s influences on the composition of the intestinal microflora, these patterns play a decisive role in the function of the immune system throughout the human lifespan.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to highlight the role of the interplay of nutrition in early life and immune system health.

A broad range of original in vivo or in vitro studies, case studies, cohorts or review manuscripts are welcome that aim to understand the interplay of diet and immunity, in the prevention, therapy or burden of immune-related diseases in early or future life, including allergies, infections, autoimmune diseases, immunodeficiencies, neuroimmune diseases, obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and more.

Dr. Sophia E. Tsabouri
Dr. Emilia Vassilopoulou
Dr. Gavriela Maria Feketea
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

nutrition
children
intrauterine period
immunity
immune system
diet
allergy
infections
metabolic syndrome
diabetes
therapy

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 1145 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Food-Protein-Induced Proctocolitis in Pre-Term Newborns with Bloody Stools in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

by Enza D’Auria, Francesco Cavigioli, Miriam Acunzo, Paola Azzurra La Verde, Anna Di Gallo, Carolina Piran, Lodovico Sterzi, Gian Vincenzo Zuccotti and Gianluca Lista

Nutrients 2024, 16(17), 3036; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16173036 - 9 Sep 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1603

Abstract

The bloody stools of newborns may be a clue for several clinical entities of varying severity, ranging from idiopathic neonatal transient colitis to food-protein-induced allergic proctocolitis (FPIAP) or necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Distinguishing among them at an early stage is challenging but crucial, as the treatments and prognoses are different. We conducted a monocentric retrospective study including all pre-term infants with bloody stools admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Vittore Buzzi Children’s Hospital (Milan) from December 2022 to May 2024. Patients diagnosed with NEC exhibited significantly lower eosinophil counts and higher procalcitonin levels than both patients with FPIAP and patients with idiopathic neonatal transient colitis, as well as a statistically significant increase in pathological features from abdomen ultrasounds and abdominal X-rays. In contrast, no lab markers or imaging techniques have been demonstrated to be useful in distinguishing between idiopathic neonatal transient colitis and FPIAP. Thus, after excluding a diagnosis of NEC, the only way to confirm FPIAP is through the oral food challenge, which can be performed in premature newborns presenting with bloody stools who are otherwise healthy and under medical supervision, in order to identify infants who may benefit from a cow’s-milk-free diet. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Immunity in Early Childhood)

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23 pages, 3866 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vertical Transfer of Maternal Gut Microbes to Offspring of Western Diet-Fed Dams Drives Reduced Levels of Tryptophan Metabolites and Postnatal Innate Immune Response

by Kameron Y. Sugino, Rachel C. Janssen, Rachel H. McMahan, Chelsea Zimmerman, Jacob E. Friedman and Karen R. Jonscher

Nutrients 2024, 16(12), 1808; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16121808 - 8 Jun 2024

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2007

Abstract

Maternal obesity and/or Western diet (WD) is associated with an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in offspring, driven, in part, by the dysregulation of the early life microbiome. Here, using a mouse model of WD-induced maternal obesity, we demonstrate that exposure to a disordered microbiome from WD-fed dams suppressed circulating levels of endogenous ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR; indole, indole-3-acetate) and TMAO (a product of AHR-mediated transcription), as well as hepatic expression of Il10 (an AHR target), in offspring at 3 weeks of age. This signature was recapitulated by fecal microbial transfer from WD-fed pregnant dams to chow-fed germ-free (GF) lactating dams following parturition and was associated with a reduced abundance of Lactobacillus in GF offspring. Further, the expression of Il10 was downregulated in liver myeloid cells and in LPS-stimulated bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) in adult offspring, suggestive of a hypo-responsive, or tolerant, innate immune response. BMDMs from adult mice lacking AHR in macrophages exhibited a similar tolerogenic response, including diminished expression of Il10. Overall, our study shows that exposure to maternal WD alters microbial metabolites in the offspring that affect AHR signaling, potentially contributing to innate immune hypo-responsiveness and progression of MASLD, highlighting the impact of early life gut dysbiosis on offspring metabolism. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the complex interplay between maternal diet, gut microbial function, and the development of neonatal innate immune tolerance and potential therapeutic interventions targeting these pathways. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Immunity in Early Childhood)

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9 pages, 674 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Feeding Difficulties in Children Presenting with Non-IgE-Mediated Gastrointestinal Food Allergies—A Commonly Reported Problem

by Adriana Chebar-Lozinsky, Claire De Koker, Robert Dziubak, Daniel Lorber Rolnik, Heather Godwin, Gloria Dominguez-Ortega, Ana-Kristina Skrapac, Yara Gholmie, Kate Reeve, Neil Shah and Rosan Meyer

Nutrients 2024, 16(11), 1563; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16111563 - 22 May 2024

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1657

Abstract

Many guidelines have been published to help diagnose food allergies, which have included feeding difficulties as a presenting symptom (particularly for non-IgE-mediated gastrointestinal allergies). This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of feeding difficulties in children with non-IgE-mediated gastrointestinal allergies and the association of such difficulties with symptoms and food elimination. An observational study was performed at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. Children aged 4 weeks to 16 years without non-allergic co-morbidities who improved on an elimination diet using a previously published Likert scale symptom score were included. This study recruited 131 children, and 114 (87%) parents completed the questionnaire on feeding difficulties. Feeding difficulties were present in 61 (53.5%) of the 114 children. The most common feeding difficulties were regular meal refusals (26.9%), extended mealtimes (26.7%), and problems with gagging on textured foods (26.5%). Most children (40/61) had ≥2 reported feeding difficulties, and eight had ≥4. Children with feeding difficulties had higher rates of constipation and vomiting: 60.7% (37/61) vs. 35.8% (19/53), p = 0.008 and 63.9% (39/61) vs. 41.5% (22/53), p = 0.017, respectively. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated an association between having feeding difficulties, the age of the child, and the initial symptom score. Gender and the number of foods excluded in the elimination diet were not significantly associated with feeding difficulties. This study found that feeding difficulties are common in children with non-IgE-mediated gastrointestinal allergies, but there is a paucity of food allergy specific tools for establishing feeding difficulties, which requires further research in the long-term and consensus in the short term amongst healthcare professions as to which tool is the best for food allergic children. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Immunity in Early Childhood)

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16 pages, 4178 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Maternal Diet Index and Offspring Microbiota at 1 Month of Life: Insights from the Mediterranean Birth Cohort MAMI

by Raúl Cabrera-Rubio, Kaci Pickett-Nairne, Sonia González-Solares, Maria Carmen Collado and Carina Venter

Nutrients 2024, 16(2), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16020314 - 20 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2607

Abstract

Background: Maternal diet during pregnancy may play a role in infant health outcomes via the maternal microbiota. We assessed the association of the maternal diet index for the Mediterranean area (MDI-med) with infant gut microbiota at 1 month of life. Methods: The MAMI study is a longitudinal birth cohort in the Mediterranean area. In this work, a cross-sectional study, including 120 mother–infant dyads with available maternal diet and infant microbiota at 1-month-old data, was undertaken. The MDI developed in the US (MDI-US) was adapted for the MAMI cohort (MDI-med). Stratification based on extreme values resulted (22 in the “lower” MDI-med group and 23 in the “upper” group from the mean). Relative microbial abundances and alpha (microbial richness and diversity indexes) and beta diversity (Bray–Curtis distance matrix) were compared between the groups. Results: Higher maternal daily vegetable intake and lower red meat intake were the characteristics of the “upper” MDI-med group. Significantly lower microbial diversity (Shannon and InvSimpson index (p = 0.01)), but no changes in richness (Chao1 index) nor in beta-diversity, using Bray–Curtis distance, were observed in the “upper” group, compared to the “lower” MDI-med group. A higher relative abundance of the Bifidobacterium genus (Actinomycetota phylum) was associated with maternal daily vegetable and yogurt intake. Conclusion: Reduced infant microbial diversity at 1 month of age was associated with “upper” MDI-med scores. Higher maternal intakes of vegetables and yogurt were associated with higher relative abundances of the Bifidobacterium genus in the infant gut. Further studies are needed to understand the link between pregnancy diet, infant microbiota, and health outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Immunity in Early Childhood)

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14 pages, 1809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Complementary Feeding Practices: Recommendations of Pediatricians for Infants with and without Allergy Risk

by Emilia Vassilopoulou, Gavriela Feketea, Ioannis Pagkalos, Dimitrios Rallis, Gregorio Paolo Milani, Carlo Agostoni, Nikolaos Douladiris, John Lakoumentas, Evangelia Stefanaki, Zenon Efthymiou and Sophia Tsabouri

Nutrients 2024, 16(2), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16020239 - 12 Jan 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3798

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the routine guidance provided by pediatricians concerning the timing of complementary feeding (CF) for both healthy infants and those at a heightened risk of allergies. Methods: A total of 233 pediatricians participated in an anonymous online survey that included questions about demographics and recommendations for CF. Specifically, they provided guidance on the types of foods, preparation methods, supplements, time intervals for introducing new foods to infants at low and high allergy risk, and delayed food introductions for high-risk cases. Results: The respondents advised introducing certain foods at specific ages: fruits, starchy non-gluten grains, vegetables, olive oil, and meat were appropriate at 6 months; gluten-rich grains at 7 months; yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and legumes at 8 months; fish at 8.5 months; and nuts at 9 months. Pediatricians, especially those with less than 15 years of practice, often introduced egg, seafood, gluten-rich grains, legumes, and nuts earlier for high-risk infants. Parenthood and male gender were associated with the earlier introduction of eggs and grains. Conclusions: Greek pediatricians follow a structured food introduction schedule for CF in infants. Interestingly, they tend to delay the introduction of common food allergens and recommend longer intervals between introducing new foods, particularly for high-risk infants. Key Notes: Despite recent evidence-based indications on healthy complementary feeding strategies for infants, discrepancies persist among pediatricians regarding food choices and the order and timing of food introduction, both for healthy infants and those at risk of allergy. Guidance on complementary feeding by pediatricians is influenced by their individual characteristics. Pediatricians tend to delay the introduction of common food allergens and recommend longer intervals between introducing new foods, particularly for high-risk infants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Immunity in Early Childhood)

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