Influence of maternal microbiota during pregnancy on infant immunity

Dr Heather Jaspan from the Division of Immunology and her colleague Donald Nyangahu from the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Research Institute recently published a paper entitled “Influence of maternal microbiota during pregnancy on infant immunity” in Clinical and Experimental Immunology.

The paper discusses microbiota from maternal sites such as the gut, vagina and breastmilk which influence infant colonization. It has been found recently that the maternal sites may influence infants before delivery as well as new-borns’ immunity. We may not fully understand the function of the placental microbiome, but scientists generally agree that the gut microbiota during plays an important role in babies’ health.

There is data that supports the theory that bacteria translocate from the maternal gut to extraintestinal sites during pregnancy and this may explain the presence of bacteria in breastmilk. It is also suggested that the development of atopy and autoimmune phenotypes in children may be influenced by their mother’s gut microbiota during pregnancy.

In the paper the role of maternal microbiota before delivery on infant immunity and predisposition to diseases are discussed as well as the potential mechanisms behind this phenomenon.

Read the paper - Influence of maternal microbiota during pregnancy on infant immunity

Article by Bonamy Holtak