Gut Microbes (Dec 2024)

Hydrogen peroxide in breast milk is crucial for gut microbiota formation and myelin development in neonatal mice

  • Jun Kambe,
  • Kento Usuda,
  • Ryo Inoue,
  • Kazuhiko Hirayama,
  • Masahiko Ito,
  • Ken Suenaga,
  • Sora Masukado,
  • Hong Liu,
  • Shiho Miyata,
  • Chunmei Li,
  • Ikuo Kimura,
  • Yuki Yamamoto,
  • Kentaro Nagaoka

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2024.2359729
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 1

Abstract

Read online

Early life environment influences mammalian brain development, a growing area of research within the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease framework, necessitating a deeper understanding of early life factors on children’s brain development. This study introduces a mouse model, LAO1 knockout mice, to investigate the relationship between breast milk, the gut microbiome, and brain development. The results reveal that breast milk‘s reactive oxygen species (ROS) are vital in shaping the neonatal gut microbiota. Decreased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels in milk disrupt the gut microbiome and lead to abnormal metabolite production, including D-glucaric acid. This metabolite inhibits hippocampal myelin formation during infancy, potentially contributing to behavioral abnormalities observed in adulthood. These findings suggest that H2O2 in breast milk is crucial for normal gut microbiota formation and brain development, with implications for understanding and potentially treating neurodevelopmental disorders in humans.

Keywords