Mother’s gut microbiome helps shape baby’s brain development, University of Cambridge researchers find
A mother’s gut microbiome during pregnancy helps to shape a baby’s brain development, University of Cambridge research has found.
It suggests probiotics could be explored to help address fetal growth restriction.
Researchers compared the development of the fetal brain in mice whose mothers had no bacteria in their gut, to those whose mothers were given Bifidobacterium breve orally during pregnancy, but had no other bacteria in their gut.
Nutrient transport to the brain increased in fetuses of those mothers given this ‘good bacteria’ and beneficial changes were seen in other cell processes relating to growth.
Bifidobacterium breve occurs naturally in our gut and is available as a supplement in probiotic drinks and tablets.
Obesity or chronic stress can alter the gut microbiome in pregnant women, which can lead to fetal growth abnormalities. The babies of up to 10 per cent of first-time mothers have low birth weight or fetal growth restriction.
When a baby has not grown properly in the womb, there is an increased risk of conditions like cerebral palsy in infants and anxiety, depression, autism and schizophrenia in later life.
“Our study suggests that by providing ‘good bacteria’ to the mother we could improve the growth and development of her baby while she’s pregnant,” said Dr Jorge Lopez-Tello, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Trophoblast Research, first author of the report.
“This means future treatments for fetal growth restriction could potentially focus on altering the gut microbiome through probiotics, rather than offering pharmaceutical treatments - with the risk of side effects - to pregnant women.”
While the study was carried out in mice, the researchers say the effects measured are likely to be similar in humans. They plan further work to monitor the brain development of the offspring after birth, and to understand how Bifidobacterium breve interacts with the other gut bacteria present in natural situations.
Prof Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri, a researcher at Cambridge’s Centre for Trophoblast Research and senior author of the report, who is also a fellow of St John’s College, said: “The design of therapies for fetal growth restriction are focused on improving blood flow pathways in the mother, but our results suggest we’ve been thinking about this the wrong way - perhaps we should be more focused on improving maternal gut health.
“We know that good gut health - determined by the types of microbes in the gut - helps the body to absorb nutrients and protect against infections and diseases.”
Previous work by the team found that treating pregnant mice with Bifidobacterium breve improves the structure and function of the placenta, which enables a better supply of glucose and other nutrients to the developing fetus and improves fetal growth.
“Although further research is needed to understand how these effects translate to humans, this exciting discovery may pave the way for future clinical studies that explore the critical role of the maternal microbiome in supporting healthy brain development before birth,” said Prof Lindsay Hall at the University of Birmingham, who was also involved in the research.
The effect of her gut bacteria on the baby’s development has received little attention to date.
The results are published today (Wednesday) in the journal Molecular Metabolism. The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust, BBSRC and the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine.
