TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal anxiety, depression and stress affects offspring gut microbiome diversity and bifidobacterial abundances
AU - Galley, Jeffrey D.
AU - Mashburn-Warren, Lauren
AU - Blalock, Lexie C.
AU - Lauber, Christian L.
AU - Carroll, Judith E.
AU - Ross, Kharah M.
AU - Hobel, Calvin
AU - Coussons-Read, Mary
AU - Dunkel Schetter, Christine
AU - Gur, Tamar L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - Uncovering mechanisms underlying fetal programming during pregnancy is of critical importance. Atypical neurodevelopment during the pre- and immediate postnatal period has been associated with long-term adverse health outcomes, including mood disorders and aberrant cognitive ability in offspring. Maternal factors that have been implicated in anomalous offspring development include maternal inflammation and tress, anxiety, and depression. One potential mechanism through which these factors perturb normal offspring postnatal development is through microbiome disruption. The mother is a primary source of early postnatal microbiome seeding for the offspring, and the transference of a healthy microbiome is key in normal neurodevelopment. Since psychological stress, mood disorders, and inflammation have all been implicated in altering maternal microbiome community structure, passing on aberrant microbial communities to the offspring that may then affect developmental outcomes. Therefore, we examined how maternal stress, anxiety and depression assessed with standardized instruments, and maternal inflammatory cytokine levels in the pre- and postnatal period are associated with the offspring microbiome within the first 13 months of life, utilizing full length 16S sequencing on infant stool samples, that allowed for species-level resolution. Results revealed that infants of mothers who reported higher anxiety and perceived stress had reduced alpha diversity. Additionally, the relative taxonomic quantitative abundances of Bifidobacterium dentium and other species that have been associated with either modulation of the gut-brain axis, or other beneficial health outcomes, were reduced in the offspring of mothers with higher anxiety, perceived stress, and depression. We also found associations between bifidobacteria and prenatal maternal pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. In summary, specific microbial taxa involved in maintaining proper brain and immune function are lower in offspring born to mothers with anxiety, depression, or stress, providing strong evidence for a mechanism by which maternal factors may affect offspring health through microbiota dysregulation.
AB - Uncovering mechanisms underlying fetal programming during pregnancy is of critical importance. Atypical neurodevelopment during the pre- and immediate postnatal period has been associated with long-term adverse health outcomes, including mood disorders and aberrant cognitive ability in offspring. Maternal factors that have been implicated in anomalous offspring development include maternal inflammation and tress, anxiety, and depression. One potential mechanism through which these factors perturb normal offspring postnatal development is through microbiome disruption. The mother is a primary source of early postnatal microbiome seeding for the offspring, and the transference of a healthy microbiome is key in normal neurodevelopment. Since psychological stress, mood disorders, and inflammation have all been implicated in altering maternal microbiome community structure, passing on aberrant microbial communities to the offspring that may then affect developmental outcomes. Therefore, we examined how maternal stress, anxiety and depression assessed with standardized instruments, and maternal inflammatory cytokine levels in the pre- and postnatal period are associated with the offspring microbiome within the first 13 months of life, utilizing full length 16S sequencing on infant stool samples, that allowed for species-level resolution. Results revealed that infants of mothers who reported higher anxiety and perceived stress had reduced alpha diversity. Additionally, the relative taxonomic quantitative abundances of Bifidobacterium dentium and other species that have been associated with either modulation of the gut-brain axis, or other beneficial health outcomes, were reduced in the offspring of mothers with higher anxiety, perceived stress, and depression. We also found associations between bifidobacteria and prenatal maternal pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. In summary, specific microbial taxa involved in maintaining proper brain and immune function are lower in offspring born to mothers with anxiety, depression, or stress, providing strong evidence for a mechanism by which maternal factors may affect offspring health through microbiota dysregulation.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Bifidobacteria
KW - Depression
KW - Gut microbiota
KW - Prenatal stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140480051&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.10.005
DO - 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.10.005
M3 - Journal Article
C2 - 36240906
AN - SCOPUS:85140480051
SN - 0889-1591
VL - 107
SP - 253
EP - 264
JO - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
JF - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
ER -