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The maternal microbiome during pregnancy and allergic disease in the offspring
Peter J Vuillermin1,2,3,4, Laurence Macia5, Ralph Nanan5
1Deakin University, Geelong, Australia. peter.vuillermin@deakin.edu.au.
Insights
The maternal microbiome during pregnancy is crucial for preventing allergies in infants. Understanding its role can lead to new strategies for combating rising allergic disease rates.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Maternal Health
Background:
- Rising rates of allergic diseases and asthma globally are linked to altered microbial exposures and diet.
- Research has primarily focused on infant gut microbiome, but the maternal microbiome's role during pregnancy is gaining recognition.
- The maternal microbiome influences offspring immune development through immune alignment and transfer of microbial products.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of the maternal microbiome during pregnancy in preventing allergy-prone immune phenotypes in offspring.
- To investigate mechanisms by which the maternal microbiome influences fetal immune system development.
- To highlight the need for human studies correlating maternal microbiome composition and activity with offspring immune status and allergy risk.
Main Methods:
- Review of epidemiological and mechanistic evidence.
- Discussion of proposed mechanisms including immune alignment and transplacental passage of metabolites and IgG.
- Identification of knowledge gaps and need for further human studies.
Main Results:
- The maternal microbiome plays a key role in establishing a non-allergy-prone immune status in offspring.
- Mechanisms involve maternal-infant immune alignment and transfer of microbial metabolites and IgG across the placenta.
- Interplay of microbial factors like lipopolysaccharides and short-chain fatty acids influences fetal immune development.
Conclusions:
- The maternal microbiome is a critical factor in immune programming during fetal development.
- Further mechanistic studies and human research are essential to fully understand these pathways.
- Knowledge gained may inform novel strategies to mitigate the increasing prevalence of allergic disorders.
Abstract:
There is substantial epidemiological and mechanistic evidence that the increase in allergic disease and asthma in many parts of the world in part relates to changes in microbial exposures and diet acting via the composition and metabolic products of the intestinal microbiome. The majority of research in this field has focused on the gut microbiome during infancy, but it is increasingly clear that the maternal microbiome during pregnancy also has a key role in preventing an allergy-prone immune phenotype in the offspring. The mechanisms by which the maternal microbiome influences the developing fetal immune system include alignment between the maternal and infant regulatory immune status and transplacental passage of microbial metabolites and IgG. Interplay between microbial stimulatory factors such as lipopolysaccharides and regulatory factors such as short-chain fatty acids may also influence on fetal immune development. However, our understanding of these pathways is at an early stage and further mechanistic studies are needed. There are also no data from human studies relating the composition and metabolic activity of the maternal microbiome during pregnancy to the offspring's immune status at birth and risk of allergic disease. Improved knowledge of these pathways may inform novel strategies for tackling the increase in allergic disorders in the modern world.