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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #342793
Title: Environmental enteric dysfunction is associated with poor linear growth and can be identified by host fecal mRNAs

Author
item ORDIZ, MARIA - Washington University
item SHAIKH, NURMOHAMMAD - Washington University
item TREHAN, INDI - Washington University
item MALETA, KEN - University Of Malawi
item STAUBER, JENNIFER - Washington University
item SHULMAN, ROBERT - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item DEVARAJ, SRIDEVI - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item TARR, PHILLIP - Washington University
item MANARY, MARK - University Of Malawi

Submitted to: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2016
Publication Date: 11/1/2016
Citation: Ordiz, M.I., Shaikh, N., Trehan, I., Maleta, K., Stauber, J., Shulman, R., Devaraj, S., Tarr, P.I., Manary, M.J. 2016. Environmental enteric dysfunction is associated with poor linear growth and can be identified by host fecal mRNAs. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 63(5):453-459.

Interpretive Summary: Malnutrition in children can cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract which leads to poor growth. The standard way to detect if there is damage to the gastrointestinal tract is done by having the children drink a special sugar solution and then collecting urine samples. Our study shows that we can use genetic material shed into the stool to determine if there is damage to the gastrointestinal tract. This test is much simpler to do than the sugar/urine test and will help us identify children at risk for poor growth.

Technical Abstract: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) can be assessed by the lactulose:mannitol (L:M) test. Our objective was to determine if selected host fecal transcripts were correlated with EED, and whether transcripts and clinical characteristics could be used to predict EED in rural African children. Demographic and sanitation characteristics, along with L:M testing and host fecal transcript analyses from 798 asymptomatic Malawian children aged 12 to 61 months were compared with linear growth over the subsequent 3 months. Fecal host mRNA analysis included quantification of expression of 18 transcripts associated with L:M. Permeability was categorized as normal (L:M = 0.15), moderate (0.15