title: Maternal microbiota and antibodies as advocates of neonatal health.
abstract: Mammalian body surfaces are inhabited by vast numbers of microbes, the commensal microbiota, which help the host to digest food, provide nutrients, and mature its immune system. For a long time, postnatal colonization was believed to be the main stimulus for microbial-induced immune development. Using a model of reversible colonization of germ-free mice during gestation, we recently showed that the microbial shaping of the neonatal immune system begins even before birth through molecular signals derived from the microbiota of the mother. Maternal microbiota was important to mature intestinal innate immune cells and to alter intestinal gene expression profiles in the offspring. These changes prepare the newborn for postnatal colonization. The majority of the gestational colonization-dependent effects required maternal antibodies. Here, we discuss and provide further evidence how maternal antibodies are important players in transferring a signal originating from the maternal intestinal microbiota to the offspring.
authors.affiliation: a Maurice Müller Laboratories (DKF), Universitätsklinik für Viszerale Chirurgie und Medizin, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stephanie C
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2548-7754
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Ganal-Vonarburg
authors.affiliation: b Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich , Zürich , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5006-6874
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fuhrer
authors.affiliation: a Maurice Müller Laboratories (DKF), Universitätsklinik für Viszerale Chirurgie und Medizin, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomez de Agüero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D000068104:Infant Health; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D023421:Models, Animal; D011247:Pregnancy
keywords: commensal microbiota; early life; gestation; host-microbial mutualism; innate immunity; maternal antibodies; maternal microbiota