Maternal Nutrition and Fetal Programming of the Immune System: Epidemiological and Experimental Evidences

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Siti Rohaiza Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Fetal Programming ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Experimental Models ◽  
Fetal Life ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Immune System Development

Maternal nutrition will not only affects pregnancy outcomes (such as birth weight) but will also affect the state of the fetus in their adult life in terms of diseases occurrence and also immune system development. Inadequate nutrition particularly will have a negative impact on the proliferation of the various cell populations responsible for the immune functions as well as the accumulation of high concentrations of inflammatory components. Maternal nutrition affects immunity ‘programming' during the period of pre-natal and post-natal life. Over the last decade, epidemiological and experimental studies have helped to expedite more understanding of immunity ‘programming.' External exposures such as smoking, alcohol and drugs during fetal life have also shown to have an impact on immunity ‘programming.' In this review, the relationship between fetal programming and the immune system, such as effects on the various immune-cellular components through some evidence from epidemiological and experimental models will be discussed.

scholarly journals Osteopontin Levels in Human Milk Are Related to Maternal Nutrition and Infant Health and Growth

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2670
Author(s):  
Aysegül Aksan ◽  
Izzet Erdal ◽  
Siddika Songül Yalcin ◽  
Jürgen Stein ◽  
Gülhan Samur
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Breast Milk ◽  
Infant Health ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
System Development ◽  
Maternal Factors ◽  
Immune System Development ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Pregnancy Weight

Background: Osteopontin (OPN) is a glycosylated phosphoprotein found in human tissues and body fluids. OPN in breast milk is thought to play a major role in growth and immune system development in early infancy. Here, we investigated maternal factors that may affect concentrations of OPN in breast milk, and the possible associated consequences for the health of neonates. Methods: General characteristics, health status, dietary patterns, and anthropometric measurements of 85 mothers and their babies were recorded antenatally and during postnatal follow-up. Results: The mean concentration of OPN in breast milk was 137.1 ± 56.8 mg/L. Maternal factors including smoking, BMI, birth route, pregnancy weight gain, and energy intake during lactation were associated with OPN levels (p < 0.05). Significant correlations were determined between body weight, length, and head circumference, respectively, and OPN levels after one (r = 0.442, p = < 0.001; r = −0.284, p = < 0.001; r = −0.392, p = < 0.001) and three months (r = 0.501, p = < 0.001; r = −0.450, p = < 0.001; r = −0.498, p = < 0.001) of lactation. A negative relation between fever-related infant hospitalizations from 0–3 months and breast milk OPN levels (r = −0.599, p < 0.001) was identified. Conclusions: OPN concentrations in breast milk differ depending on maternal factors, and these differences can affect the growth and immune system functions of infants. OPN supplementation in infant formula feed may have benefits and should be further investigated.

The Diet of Girls and Young Women at the Beginning of the Century

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fellague Ariouat ◽  
D.J.P. Barker
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Cardiovascular Mortality ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Cardiovascular Death ◽  
Early Growth ◽  
Fetal Life ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Death Rates

Recent research has shown that retarded growth during fetal life and infancy is linked to the development of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke) in adult life. Maternal nutrition has an important effect on early growth and the diets of young women may therefore influence cardiovascular disease in the next generation. Samples of women aged 80 years and over were interviewed in six areas of England and Wales with different cardiovascular death rates. The women, 281 in total, were asked about their diets when they were aged 10 to 15 years. Those who grew up in areas which now have low cardiovascular mortality tended to eat four meals a day rather than three, to live in households which had gardens, kept hens or livestock, and to go into domestic service, where diets were generally good. Those who grew up in areas which now have high cardiovascular mortality tended to eat less red meat, to live in houses without gardens, to enter industrial occupations and have higher fertility rates.

scholarly journals Microbiota Modulating Nutritional Approaches to Countering the Effects of Viral Respiratory Infections Including SARS-CoV-2 through Promoting Metabolic and Immune Fitness with Probiotics and Plant Bioactives

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanvi Shinde ◽  
Philip M Hansbro ◽  
Sukhwinder Singh Sohal ◽  
Peter Dingle ◽  
Rajaraman Eri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Mechanistic Study ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Viral Respiratory Infections ◽  
Viral Respiratory

Viral respiratory infections (VRIs) can spread quickly and cause enormous morbidity and mortality worldwide. These events pose serious threats to public health due to time lags in developing vaccines to activate the acquired immune system. The high variability of people’s symptomatic responses to viral infections, as illustrated in the current COVID-19 pandemic, indicates the potential to moderate the severity of morbidity from VRIs. Growing evidence supports roles for probiotic bacteria (PB) and prebiotic dietary fiber (DF) and other plant nutritional bioactives in modulating immune functions. While human studies help to understand the epidemiology and immunopathology of VRIs, the chaotic nature of viral transmissions makes it difficult to undertake mechanistic study where the pre-conditioning of the metabolic and immune system could be beneficial. However, recent experimental studies have significantly enhanced our understanding of how PB and DF, along with plant bioactives, can significantly modulate innate and acquired immunity responses to VRIs. Synbiotic combinations of PB and DF potentiate increased benefits primarily through augmenting the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate. These and specific plant polyphenolics help to regulate immune responses to both restrain VRIs and temper the neutrophil response that can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This review highlights the current understanding of the potential impact of targeted nutritional strategies in setting a balanced immune tone for viral clearance and reinforcing homeostasis. This knowledge may guide the development of public health tactics and the application of functional foods with PB and DF components as a nutritional approach to support countering VRI morbidity.

scholarly journals Prenatal programming of postnatal obesity: fetal nutrition and the regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion before birth

2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. McMillen ◽  
B. S. Muhlhausler ◽  
J. A. Duffield ◽  
B. S. J. Yuen
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Fat Mass ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Relative Mass ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
Fetal Life ◽  
Fat Depots

Exposure to either an increased or decreased level of intrauterine nutrition can result in an increase in adiposity and in circulating leptin concentrations in later life. In animals such as the sheep and pig in which fat is deposited before birth, leptin is synthesised in fetal adipose tissue and is present in the fetal circulation throughout late gestation. In the sheep a moderate increase or decrease in the level of maternal nutrition does not alter fetal plasma leptin concentrations, but there is evidence that chronic fetal hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia increase fetal fat mass and leptin synthesis within fetal fat depots. Importantly, there is a positive relationship between the relative mass of the ‘unilocular’ component of fetal perirenal and interscapular adipose tissue and circulating fetal leptin concentrations in the sheep. Thus, as in the neonate and adult, circulating leptin concentrations may be a signal of fat mass in fetal life. There is also evidence that leptin can act to regulate the lipid storage, leptin synthetic capacity and potential thermogenic functions of fat before birth. Thus, leptin may act as a signal of energy supply and have a ‘lipostatic’ role before birth. Future studies are clearly required to determine whether the intrauterine and early postnatal nutrient environment programme the endocrine feedback loop between adipose tissue and the central and peripheral neuroendocrine systems that regulate energy balance, resulting in an enhanced risk of obesity in adult life.

scholarly journals The gut microbiota is associated with the small intestinal paracellular permeability and the development of the immune system in healthy children during the first two years of life

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Ulrike Löber ◽  
Karolina Adamek ◽  
Dagmara Węgrzyn ◽  
Karolina Skonieczna-Żydecka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Paracellular Permeability ◽  
Shannon Index ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Faecal Calprotectin ◽  
Immune System Development ◽  
Small Intestinal

Abstract Background The intestinal barrier plays an important role in the defense against infections, and nutritional, endocrine, and immune functions. The gut microbiota playing an important role in development of the gastrointestinal tract can impact intestinal permeability and immunity during early life, but data concerning this problem are scarce. Methods We analyzed the microbiota in fecal samples (101 samples in total) collected longitudinally over 24 months from 21 newborns to investigate whether the markers of small intestinal paracellular permeability (zonulin) and immune system development (calprotectin) are linked to the gut microbiota. The results were validated using data from an independent cohort that included the calprotectin and gut microbiota in children during the first year of life. Results Zonulin levels tended to increase for up to 6 months after childbirth and stabilize thereafter remaining at a high level while calprotectin concentration was high after childbirth and began to decline from 6 months of life. The gut microbiota composition and the related metabolic potentials changed during the first 2 years of life and were correlated with zonulin and calprotectin levels. Faecal calprotectin correlated inversely with alpha diversity (Shannon index, r = − 0.30, FDR P (Q) = 0.039). It also correlated with seven taxa; i.a. negatively with Ruminococcaceae (r = − 0.34, Q = 0.046), and Clostridiales (r = − 0.34, Q = 0.048) and positively with Staphylococcus (r = 0.38, Q = 0.023) and Staphylococcaceae (r = 0.35, Q = 0.04), whereas zonulin correlated with 19 taxa; i.a. with Bacillales (r = − 0.52, Q = 0.0004), Clostridiales (r = 0.48, Q = 0.001) and the Ruminococcus (torques group) (r = 0.40, Q = 0.026). When time intervals were considered only changes in abundance of the Ruminococcus (torques group) were associated with changes in calprotectin (β = 2.94, SE = 0.8, Q = 0.015). The dynamics of stool calprotectin was negatively associated with changes in two MetaCyc pathways: pyruvate fermentation to butanoate (β = − 4.54, SE = 1.08, Q = 0.028) and Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentation (β = − 4.48, SE = 1.16, Q = 0.026). Conclusions The small intestinal paracellular permeability, immune system-related markers and gut microbiota change dynamically during the first 2 years of life. The Ruminococcus (torques group) seems to be especially involved in controlling paracellular permeability. Staphylococcus, Staphylococcaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Clostridiales, may be potential biomarkers of the immune system. Despite observed correlations their clear causation and health consequences were not proven. Mechanistic studies are required. Graphic abstract

scholarly journals Intrauterine Programming of Cardiovascular Diseases in Maternal Diabetes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Higa ◽  
María Laura Leonardi ◽  
Alicia Jawerbaum
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Fetal Programming ◽  
Fetal Heart ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Maternal Diabetes ◽  
Matrix Remodeling ◽  
Carbohydrate And Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Target Organs ◽  
Fetal Stage

Maternal diabetes is a prevalent pathology that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in the offspring, the heart being one of the main target organs affected from the fetal stage until the adult life. Metabolic, pro-oxidant, and proinflammatory alterations in the fetal heart constitute the first steps in the adverse fetal programming of cardiovascular disease in the context of maternal diabetes. This review discusses both human and experimental studies addressing putative mechanisms involved in this fetal programming of heart damage in maternal diabetes. These include cardiac epigenetic changes, alterations in cardiac carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, damaging effects caused by a pro-oxidant and proinflammatory environment, alterations in the cardiac extracellular matrix remodeling, and specific signaling pathways. Putative actions to prevent cardiovascular impairments in the offspring of mothers with diabetes are also discussed.

scholarly journals Regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion before birth: implications for the early programming of adult obesity

Reproduction ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
I C McMillen ◽  
L J Edwards ◽  
J Duffield ◽  
B S Muhlhausler
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Fetal Brain ◽  
Fetal Life ◽  
Adult Obesity ◽  
Nutritional Environment ◽  
Hypothalamic Neuropeptides ◽  
Potential Impact

A series of epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies have shown that there are associations between the fetal and neonatal nutritional environment and the amount and distribution of adipose tissue in adult life. This review considers the evidence for these relationships and discusses the potential impact of the prenatal nutritional experience on the development of the endocrine and neuroendocrine systems that regulate energy balance, with a particular emphasis on the role of the adipocyte-derived hormone, leptin. In the rodent, leptin derived from the mother may exert an important influence on the development of the appetite regulatory neural network and on the subsequent regulation of leptin synthesis and the risk for obesity in the offspring. In species such as the human and sheep, there is also recent evidence that the synthesis and secretion of adipocyte-derived hormones, such as leptin, are regulated in fetal life. Furthermore, the hypothalamic neuropeptides that regulate energy intake and expenditure in adult life are also present within the fetal brain and may be regulated by the prevailing level of maternal and hence fetal nutrient and hormonal signals, including leptin. This work is important in determining those initiating mechanisms within the ‘fat–brain’ axis in early life that precede the development of adult obesity.

scholarly journals Fetal programming of CVD and renal disease: animal models and mechanistic considerations

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon C. Langley-Evans
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Fetal Programming ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
Maternal Diet ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Maternal Nutritional Status ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Mechanistic Basis

The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis postulates that exposure to a less than optimal maternal environment during fetal development programmes physiological function, and determines risk of disease in adult life. Much evidence of such programming comes from retrospective epidemiological cohorts, which demonstrate associations between birth anthropometry and non-communicable diseases of adulthood. The assertion that variation in maternal nutrition drives these associations is supported by studies using animal models, which demonstrate that maternal under- or over-nutrition during pregnancy can programme offspring development. Typically, the offspring of animals that are undernourished in pregnancy exhibit a relatively narrow range of physiological phenotypes that includes higher blood pressure, glucose intolerance, renal insufficiency and increased adiposity. The observation that common phenotypes arise from very diverse maternal nutritional insults has led to the proposal that programming is driven by a small number of mechanistic processes. The remodelling of tissues during development as a consequence of maternal nutritional status being signalled by endocrine imbalance or key nutrients limiting processes in the fetus may lead to organs having irreversibly altered structures that may limit their function with ageing. It has been proposed that the maternal diet may impact upon epigenetic marks that determine gene expression in fetal tissues, and this may be an important mechanism connecting maternal nutrient intakes to long-term programming of offspring phenotype. The objective for this review is to provide an overview of the mechanistic basis of fetal programming, demonstrating the critical role of animal models as tools for the investigation of programming phenomena.

scholarly journals Developmental programming of health and disease

2006 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon C. Langley-Evans
Keyword(s):  
Fetal Growth ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Fetal Life ◽  
Nutrient Imbalance ◽  
The Impact

The environment encountered in fetal and neonatal life exerts a profound influence on physiological function and risk of disease in adult life. Epidemiological evidence suggests that impaired fetal growth followed by rapid catch-up in infancy is a strong predictor of obesity, hypertension, non-insulin-dependent diabetes and CHD. Whilst these associations have been widely accepted to be the product of nutritional factors operating in pregnancy, evidence from human populations to support this assertion is scarce. Animal studies clearly demonstrate that there is a direct association between nutrient imbalance in fetal life and later disease states, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity and renal disease. These associations are independent of changes in fetal growth rates. Experimental studies examining the impact of micro- or macronutrient restriction and excess in rodent pregnancy provide clues to the mechanisms that link fetal nutrition to permanent physiological changes that promote disease. Exposure to glucocorticoids in early life appears to be an important consequence of nutrient imbalance and may lead to alterations in gene expression that have major effects on tissue development and function. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, may also be important processes in early-life programming.

scholarly journals The Gut Microbiota is Associated with the Small Intestinal Paracellular Permeability and the Development of the Immune System in Healthy Children During the First Two Years of Life

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Ulrike Löber ◽  
Karolina Adamek ◽  
Dagmara Węgrzyn ◽  
Karolina Skonieczna-Żydecka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Intestinal Barrier ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Paracellular Permeability ◽  
Shannon Index ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Immune System Development ◽  
Small Intestinal

Abstract BackgroundThe intestinal barrier plays an important role in the defense against infections, and nutritional, endocrine, and immune functions. The gut microbiota playing important role in development of the gastrointestinal tract can impact intestinal permeability and immunity during early life, but data concerning this problem are scare.MethodsWe analyzed the microbiota in fecal samples (101 samples in total) collected longitudinally over 24 months from 21 newborns to investigate whether the markers of small intestinal paracellular permeability (zonulin) and immune system development (calprotectin) are linked to the gut microbiota. The results were validated using data from an independent cohort that included the calprotectin and gut microbiota in children during the first year of life. ResultsZonulin levels tended to increase for up to 6 months after childbirth and stabilize thereafter remaining at a high level while calprotectin concentration was high after chilbirth and begun to decline from 6 months of life. The gut microbiota composition and the related metabolic potentials changed during the first two years of life and were correlated with zonulin and calprotectin levels. Feacal calprotectin correlated inversely with alpha diversity (Shannon index, r =-0.30, FDR P (Q)=0.039). It also correlated with seven taxa; i.a. negatively with Ruminococccaceae (r=-0.34, Q=0.046), and Clostridiales (r=-0.34, Q=0.048) and positively with Stapylococcus (r=0.38, Q=0.023) and Staphylococcaceae (r=0.35, Q=0.04), whereas zonulin correlated with 19 taxa; i.a. with Bacillales (r=-0.52, Q=0.0004), Clostridiales (r=0.48, Q=0.001) and the Ruminococcus (torques group) (r=0.40, Q=0.026). When time intevals were considered only changes in abundance of the Ruminococcus (torques group) were associcated with changes in calprotectin (β=2.94, SE=0.8, Q=0.015). The dynamics of stool calprotectin was negatively associated with changes in two MetaCyc pathways: pyruvate fermentation to butanoate (β=-4.54, SE=1.08, Q=0.028) and Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentation (β=-4.48, SE=1.16, Q=0.026). ConclusionsThe small intestinal paracellular permeability, immune system-related markers and gut microbiota change dynamically during the first two years of life. The Ruminococcus (torques group) seems to be especially involved in controlling paracellular permeability. Staphylococcus, Staphylococcaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Clostridiales, may be potential biomarkers of the immune system. Despite observed correlations their clear causation and health consequences were not proven. Mechanistic studies are required.

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