Grant: Project Grant

Our bodies are home to trillions of microbes that constantly stimulate the immune system and impact our health. Colonization of our intestines and all other mucosal surfaces is a dynamic process that begins at birth and takes several years to reach a stable but diverse mixture of different bacterial species. Importantly, development of the immune system also occurs during these critical early years, and we now know that the presence of our intestinal bacteria heavily influences development of a regulated and balanced immune system. Studies have shown that changes in the developing microbiota in early life are associated with increased susceptibility to multiple diseases later in life, including allergic disease and autoimmunity. Since the environment in utero is thought to be sterile, microbial stimulation of the developing immune system was thought to begin at birth, when the newborn is exposed to the outside environment. However, we have recently shown that the maternal microbiota can already start to influence development of the fetal immune system before birth. This early stimulation is required to train the baby's immune system to cope with the onslaught of microbes it is faced with at birth. In this study, we aim to identify the precise mechanisms and pathways by which the microbiota of the mother before birth educates and shapes the developing immune system. This project will help to establish novel strategies to promote a healthy microbiome during pregnancy to ensure each new baby is born with a trained immune system and will provide information for the rational design of microbial therapies designed to protect from development of diseases later in life.