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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
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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

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Abnormal intestinal microbial colonization in prenatally stressed offspring is related to lung and intestinal

Audrey F Duff1,2, Michael T Bailey1,2,3

  • 1Center for Microbe and Immunity Research, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States.

Frontiers in Microbiology
|April 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal stress (PNS) alters the early-life microbiome, impacting offspring immune development. These changes correlate with increased respiratory infections and are dependent on the MyD88 pathway.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Microbiology
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Prenatal stress (PNS) negatively affects child health, increasing susceptibility to early-life infections like respiratory infections.
  • Maternal microbiome alterations during pregnancy due to stress are a key factor linking in utero stress to abnormal offspring development and microbial colonization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between early-life intestinal microbial perturbations and intestinal/lung cytokine gene expression in a mouse model of PNS.
  • To characterize basal cytokine differences in relation to intestinal microbial composition in PNS-exposed offspring.

Main Methods:

  • A mouse model of prenatal stress (PNS) was utilized.
  • Intestinal microbiome composition, diversity, and differential abundance were assessed.
  • Intestinal and lung tissue gene expression, specifically focusing on cytokines, was analyzed over the first five weeks of life.
  • Experiments included MyD88 knockout mice to assess pathway dependency.

Main Results:

  • PNS offspring showed significant alterations in microbiome diversity and composition.
  • Increased interferon and proinflammatory cytokine gene signatures were observed in the ileum and lung of PNS offspring.
  • PNS-associated microbiome changes correlated with ileal and lung gene expression.
  • MyD88 knockout offspring did not exhibit PNS-associated cytokine differences.

Conclusions:

  • PNS-induced early-life microbiome changes are linked to immune development in the gut and lungs.
  • Microbe-immune interactions influenced by PNS are dependent on the MyD88 signaling pathway.
Abstract

Keywords:
MyD88cytokine gene expressionintestinal microbiomeintestinelungprenatal stress

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