Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Probiotic Studies in Neonatal Mice Using Gavage
Published on: January 27, 2019
Decreased gut microbiota diversity, delayed Bacteroidetes colonisation and reduced Th1 responses in infants delivered
Hedvig E Jakobsson1, Thomas R Abrahamsson, Maria C Jenmalm
1Department of Preparedness, Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, , Solna, Sweden.
Objective:
The early intestinal microbiota exerts important stimuli for immune development, and a reduced microbial exposure as well as caesarean section (CS) has been associated with the development of allergic disease. Here we address how microbiota development in infants is affected by mode of delivery, and relate differences in colonisation patterns to the maturation of a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response.
Design:
The postnatal intestinal colonisation pattern was investigated in 24 infants, born vaginally (15) or by CS (nine). The intestinal microbiota were characterised using pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes at 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after birth. Venous blood levels of Th1- and Th2-associated chemokines were measured at 6, 12 and 24 months.
Results:
Infants born through CS had lower total microbiota diversity during the first 2 years of life. CS delivered infants also had a lower abundance and diversity of the Bacteroidetes phylum and were less often colonised with the Bacteroidetes phylum. Infants born through CS had significantly lower levels of the Th1-associated chemokines CXCL10 and CXCL11 in blood.
Conclusions:
CS was associated with a lower total microbial diversity, delayed colonisation of the Bacteroidetes phylum and reduced Th1 responses during the first 2 years of life.
Related Concept Videos
Development of Human Microbiota
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the small...
Introduction to the Human Microbiota
Gut-Brain Axis
Microbiota of the Stomach and Small Intestine
