Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been described as being pandemic, but serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] distribution data for the European Unio

Breastfeeding profoundly shapes the infant gut microbiota, which is critical for early life immune development, and the gut microbiota can impact host physiology in various ways, such as through the production of metabolites. However, few breastmilk-dependent microbial metabolites mediating host–microbiota interactions are currently known. Here, we demonstrate that breastmilk-promotedBifidobacteriumspecies convert aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine) into their respective aromatic lactic acids (indolelactic acid, phenyllactic acid and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid) via a previously unrecognized aromatic lactate dehydrogenase (ALDH). The ability ofBifidobacteriumspecies to convert aromatic amino acids to their lactic acid derivatives was confirmed using monocolonized mice. Longitudinal profiling of the faecal microbiota composition and metabolome of Danish infants (n = 25), from birth until 6 months of age, showed that faecal concentrations of aromatic lactic acids are correlated positively with the abundance of human milk oligosaccharide-degradingBifidobacteriumspecies containing the ALDH, includingBifidobacterium longum,B. breveandB. bifidum. We further demonstrate that faecal concentrations ofBifidobacterium-derived indolelactic acid are associated with the capacity of these samples to activate in vitro the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a receptor important for controlling intestinal homoeostasis and immune responses. Finally, we show that indolelactic acid modulates ex vivo immune responses of human CD4⁺T cells and monocytes in a dose-dependent manner by acting as an agonist of both the AhR and hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 3 (HCA₃). Our findings reveal that breastmilk-promotedBifidobacteriumspecies produce aromatic lactic acids in the gut of infants and suggest that these microbial metabolites may impact immune function in early life.

Fecal samples were obtained from a cohort of 330 healthy Danish infants at 9, 18, and 36 months after birth, enabling characterization of interbacterial relationships by use of quantitative PCR targeting 31 selected bacterial 16S rRNA gene targets representing different phylogenetic levels. Nutritional parameters and measures of growth and body composition were determined and investigated in relation to the observed development in microbiota composition. We found that significant changes in the gut microbiota occurred, particularly from age 9 to 18 months, when cessation of breastfeeding and introduction of a complementary feeding induce replacement of a microbiota characterized by lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, andEnterobacteriaceaewith a microbiota dominated byClostridiumspp. andBacteroidesspp. Classification of samples by a proxy enterotype based on the relative levels ofBacteroidesspp. andPrevotellaspp. showed that enterotype establishment occurs between 9 and 36 months. Thirty percent of the individuals shifted enterotype between 18 and 36 months. The composition of the microbiota was most pronouncedly influenced by the time of cessation of breastfeeding. From 9 to 18 months, a positive correlation was observed between the increase in body mass index and the increase of the short-chain-fatty-acid-producing clostridia, theClostridum leptumgroup, andEubacterium hallii. Considering previously established positive associations between rapid infant weight gain, early breastfeeding discontinuation, and later-life obesity, the corresponding microbial findings seen here warrant attention.