The association between vaginal microbiota in pregnancy with infant gut microbiota and fetal and infant adiposity

• Grant number: 20/15365-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition
• Principal Investigator: Patricia Helen de Carvalho Rondó
• Grantee: Natália Pinheiro de Castro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/03333-6 - The relationship between maternal adiposity and adiposity of the offspring in the fetal, neonatal and infant periods: a prospective population-based study, AP.TEM

Abstract

Overweight and obesity remains a major risk factor for the leading causes of death in developed and developing countries. When homeostatic weight control is disrupted due to increased energy intake and, consequently, increased fat mass, metabolic pathways are also modified, characterizing an internal environment prone to the development of chronic diseases. More recently, excessive weight has been linked to alterations of colonies of gut microbiota, and its manipulations are currently being studied as a potential treatment for Obesity and its related diseases. Gut colonization may begin in utero, as evidence indicates that bacteria from maternal vaginal/gut microbiota have been found in fetal tissues. Therefore, it is important to understand differences in gut microbiota of infants, its relation to adiposity and the importance of maternal vaginal microbiota along pregnancy to its composition. The suggestion that chronic diseases may begin in early life is not new (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis) and we believe that the relationship between maternal vaginal microbiota along pregnancy, infant gut microbiota and its relationship to fetal and infant adiposity may shed important findings for Obesity prevention. As part of two ongoing projects funded by FAPESP, 100 adult pregnant women will be recruited at d18 weeks of gestation from 34 Health Care Units in Araraquara, SP. We will collect vaginal samples from participants at three points in pregnancy (d18, 20-26, 30-36 weeks) to model vaginal microbial community composition and its variation across gestation. We propose to collect samples of the gut microbiota of 25 one-month-old infants delivered vaginally to characterize their gut microbiota. Next generation 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and bioinformatics analysis will be used to test for associations between vaginal microbiota (a) and gut microbiota of infants and (b) fetal/infant adiposity. We will also assess effects of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical/reproductive factors of participants on the vaginal microbiota and infant gut microbiota to identify potential risk factors for microbial changes associated with fetal and infant´s increased adiposity. (AU)