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Updated: Jun 15, 2025
Probiotic Studies in Neonatal Mice Using Gavage
Published on: January 27, 2019
Multispecies probiotic intake during pregnancy modulates neurodevelopmental trajectories of offspring: Aiming towards
Tatiana Siegler Lathrop1, Sarah Perego2, Thomaz F S Bastiaanssen3
1Technical University of Denmark, DTU-Food, Research Group for Food Production Engineering, Laboratory of Nano-BioScience, Denmark.
Insights
Maternal prenatal probiotic intake improved offspring neurodevelopment, gut microbiota, and gene expression, especially in males. These benefits suggest potential for targeted microbial interventions for healthy neurodevelopment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Microbiology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- The maternal gut microbiome significantly influences offspring neurodevelopment during pregnancy.
- Prenatal environmental factors, including microbial exposures, can impact long-term neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of maternal multispecies probiotic intake during gestation on offspring neurodevelopment in mice.
- To explore sex-specific responses to prenatal probiotic interventions on behavior, gut microbiota, and brain gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Mice dams received a multispecies probiotic formulation from gestational day 6 until birth.
- Offspring neurodevelopment, emotional behavior, gut microbiota composition, and gene expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were assessed.
- Analysis included gene expression of IL-10, oxytocin receptor (Oxtr), and proton-coupled oligopeptide transporter 1 (PepT1).
Main Results:
- Prenatal probiotic exposure led to lasting improvements in emotional behavior, gut microbiota, and tight junction gene expression, particularly in male offspring.
- Elevated IL-10 and Oxtr gene expression in the PFC of juvenile offspring, persisting into adulthood only in males.
- Sustained increase in PepT1 expression in the PFC of male offspring suggests a mechanism for sex-dependent effects.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal multispecies probiotic interventions show potential for promoting long-term positive neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Observed sex-dependent effects highlight the need for precision microbial strategies in promoting healthy neurodevelopment and behavior.
Abstract:
Recent research highlights the pivotal role of the maternal gut microbiome during pregnancy in shaping offspring neurodevelopment. In this study, we investigated the impact of maternal intake of a multispecies probiotic formulation during a critical prenatal window (from gestational day 6 until birth) on neurodevelopmental trajectories in mice. Our findings demonstrate significant and persistent benefits in emotional behavior, gut microbiota composition, and expression of tight junction-related genes, particularly in male offspring, who exhibited heightened sensitivity to the probiotic intervention compared to females. Additionally, we observed elevated gene expression levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and the oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of exposed juvenile offspring; however, these changes persisted only in the adult male offspring. Furthermore, the sustained increase in the expression of the proton-coupled oligopeptide transporter 1 (PepT1), which is involved in the transport of bacterial peptidoglycan motifs, in the PFC of exposed male offspring suggests a potential mechanistic pathway underlying the observed sex-dependent effects on behavior and gene expression. These results underscore the potential of prenatal multispecies probiotic interventions to promote long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, with implications for precision microbial reconstitution aimed at promoting healthy neurodevelopment and behavior.
