A new research model developed by our Carrie A. Cowardin, PhD, and colleagues will help doctors and scientists better understand and overcome the global problem of childhood undernutrition.
Undernutrition contributes to almost half of all deaths of children under 5. It also can stunt growth and harm children's cognitive development. Those lifelong effects, in turn, help trap people in poverty.
Professor Cowardin's model offers a more sophisticated way to study the effects of undernutrition on the microbiome, the microbes that naturally live inside the gut.
Scientists routinely study the microbiome by taking samples from the human microbiome and moving them into lab mice. But the UVA team found that they could improve that model significantly. Introducing the microbes when the mice were very young, before the mice had been weaned, better mimicked the effect of undernutrition during early childhood, the researchers found.
“We believe this new model will help us investigate many of the major challenges facing undernourished children, including higher rates of infection and changes in cognitive development,” Professor Cowardin said. “Our current studies are using this system to identify specific microbes that impact development, with the goal of using these microbes as therapies to promote healthy growth. ”
The new model should help scientists better understand the consequences of undernutrition in developing counties, Professor Cowardin said. That understanding will let us develop new ways to help children live longer, healthier lives.
“We hope this work also allows us to answer fundamental questions about how the microbiome interacts with our own cells to shape the course of development,” Professor Cowardin said. “Growth stunting due to undernutrition is a really difficult problem facing global child health, and the lessons we learn will likely apply to many other conditions as well.”