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Nyangahu DD, Lennard KS, Brown BP, Darby MG, Wendoh JM, Havyarimana E, Smith P, Butcher J, Stintzi A, Mulder N, Horsnell W, Jaspan HB. Disruption of maternal gut microbiota during gestation alters offspring microbiota and immunity. Microbiome 2018; 6:124. [PMID: 29981583 PMCID: PMC6035804 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-018-0511-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early life microbiota is an important determinant of immune and metabolic development and may have lasting consequences. The maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy or breastfeeding is important for defining infant gut microbiota. We hypothesized that maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy and breastfeeding is a critical determinant of infant immunity. To test this, pregnant BALB/c dams were fed vancomycin for 5 days prior to delivery (gestation; Mg), 14 days postpartum during nursing (Mn), or during gestation and nursing (Mgn), or no vancomycin (Mc). We analyzed adaptive immunity and gut microbiota in dams and pups at various times after delivery. RESULTS In addition to direct alterations to maternal gut microbial composition, pup gut microbiota displayed lower α-diversity and distinct community clusters according to timing of maternal vancomycin. Vancomycin was undetectable in maternal and offspring sera, therefore the observed changes in the microbiota of stomach contents (as a proxy for breastmilk) and pup gut signify an indirect mechanism through which maternal intestinal microbiota influences extra-intestinal and neonatal commensal colonization. These effects on microbiota influenced both maternal and offspring immunity. Maternal immunity was altered, as demonstrated by significantly higher levels of both total IgG and IgM in Mgn and Mn breastmilk when compared to Mc. In pups, lymphocyte numbers in the spleens of Pg and Pn were significantly increased compared to Pc. This increase in cellularity was in part attributable to elevated numbers of both CD4+ T cells and B cells, most notable Follicular B cells. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that perturbations to maternal gut microbiota dictate neonatal adaptive immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald D Nyangahu
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Present Address: Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Katie S Lennard
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Division of Computational Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Bryan P Brown
- Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Present Address: Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Matthew G Darby
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jerome M Wendoh
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Enock Havyarimana
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Peter Smith
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - James Butcher
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA, USA
| | - Alain Stintzi
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, CA, USA
| | - Nicola Mulder
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Division of Computational Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - William Horsnell
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
- Laboratory of Molecular and Experimental Immunology and Neurogenetics, UMR 7355, CNRS-University of Orleans and Le Studium Institute for Advanced Studies, Rue Dupanloup, 45000, Orléans, France
| | - Heather B Jaspan
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
- Department of Pediatrics and Global Health, University of Washington and Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.
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Lennard KS, Goosen RW, Blackburn JM. Bacterially-Associated Transcriptional Remodelling in a Distinct Genomic Subtype of Colorectal Cancer Provides a Plausible Molecular Basis for Disease Development. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166282. [PMID: 27846243 PMCID: PMC5112903 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The relevance of specific microbial colonisation to colorectal cancer (CRC) disease pathogenesis is increasingly recognised, but our understanding of possible underlying molecular mechanisms that may link colonisation to disease in vivo remains limited. Here, we investigate the relationships between the most commonly studied CRC-associated bacteria (Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis, pks+ Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium spp., afaC+ E. coli, Enterococcus faecalis & Enteropathogenic E. coli) and altered transcriptomic and methylation profiles of CRC patients, in order to gain insight into the potential contribution of these bacteria in the aetiopathogenesis of CRC. We show that colonisation by E. faecalis and high levels of Fusobacterium is associated with a specific transcriptomic subtype of CRC that is characterised by CpG island methylation, microsatellite instability and a significant increase in inflammatory and DNA damage pathways. Analysis of the significant, bacterially-associated changes in host gene expression, both at the level of individual genes as well as pathways, revealed a transcriptional remodeling that provides a plausible mechanistic link between specific bacterial colonisation and colorectal cancer disease development and progression in this subtype; these included upregulation of REG3A, REG1A and REG1P in the case of high-level colonization by Fusobacterium, and CXCL10 and BMI1 in the case of colonisation by E. faecalis. The enrichment of both E. faecalis and Fusobacterium in this CRC subtype suggests that polymicrobial colonisation of the colonic epithelium may well be an important aspect of colonic tumourigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie S. Lennard
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine & Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ryan W. Goosen
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine & Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jonathan M. Blackburn
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine & Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- * E-mail:
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