Child type 1 diabetes associated with mother vaginal bacteriome and mycobiome

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Immunology
• Pediatric health

Background:

• The maternal vaginal microbiome plays a crucial role in colonizing the neonate during vaginal delivery.
• Alterations in the early-life microbiome are increasingly associated with the development of autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in the vaginal bacteriome and mycobiome between mothers of children with T1D and mothers of healthy children.
• To identify specific microbial signatures in the maternal vaginal microbiome associated with T1D in offspring.

Main Methods:

• Vaginal DNA samples were collected from mothers of children with T1D and control mothers.
• Bacteriome and mycobiome were analyzed using 16S and ITS2 ribosomal DNA sequencing, respectively.
• Machine learning models (Random Forest) were employed to predict T1D status.

Main Results:

• Mothers of children with T1D exhibited increased bacterial alpha-diversity (P < 0.002) and decreased fungal alpha-diversity (P < 0.001) compared to controls.
• Significant differences in fungal beta-diversity were observed between the groups (P = 0.001).
• Machine learning models achieved high accuracy in predicting T1D status (bacteria: 0.86 AUC, fungi: 0.96 AUC).

Conclusions:

• The maternal vaginal microbiome, encompassing both bacteria and fungi, is associated with the risk of type 1 diabetes in children.
• Specific fungal genera and bacterial metabolic pathways in the maternal vaginal microbiome may contribute to the development of childhood T1D.
• Altered maternal vaginal microbiome composition is a potential factor in the early onset of T1D.