Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 16, 2025
A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
Published on: June 24, 2020
Maternal and placental microbiome and immune crosstalk in pregnancies with small-for-gestational-age fetuses - a
Katarzyna Kosińska-Kaczyńska1, Dominika Krawczyk1, Martyna Bednorz1
1Department of Obstetrics, Perinatology and Neonatology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
Introduction:
Pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction are associated with specific bacterial abundances and elevation of proinflammatory cytokines. The aim of the study was to simultaneously analyze the relation between the gut and placenta microbiome and cytokine profile in pregnant women with fetuses appropriate (AGA) and small for gestational age (SGA).
Material And Methods:
Women with singleton pregnancies at or beyond 32 weeks of gestation were recruited. 11 delivered SGA newborns (study group) and 11 AGA newborns (control group). Samples of maternal venous blood, stool and placenta were collected perinatally.
Results:
In SGA group lower Chao index in placental samples collected from maternal side, while higher Chao index in placental samples collected from fetal side were observed. Taxonomic analysis identified four significantly less abundant genera in samples collected from maternal side. No taxa remained significant after correction in samples from fetal side, but several taxa showed trends of differing abundance. Veillonella showed a trend toward higher abundance in stool samples in SGA group, while other taxa were significant only at a lower threshold. Metabolite analysis revealed that hexanoic acid was significantly elevated compound in the stool of women from the SGA group. Proteobacteria unclassified and Halomonadaceae correlated with stool metabolites, while IL-6 and TNF-α correlated with specific bacterial groups.
Conclusions:
Specific changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome as well as placenta microbiome of women with SGA have been observed, with additional associations with inflammatory cytokine levels, suggesting a potential role of these factors in SGA development and highlighting the need for further research.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
01:15Transcytosis of IgG
IgG molecules from a mother undergo transcytosis starting around 13 weeks of gestation. The amount of IgG transferred and entering the fetal blood circulation increases with...
01:23Anatomy 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...