Epigenetic programming mediates abnormal gut microbiota and disease susceptibility in offspring with prenatal dexamethasone exposure.

ABSTRACT: Prenatal dexamethasone exposure (PDE) can lead to increased susceptibility to various diseases in adult offspring, but its effect on gut microbiota composition and the relationship with disease susceptibility remains unclear. In this study, we find sex-differential changes in the gut microbiota of 6-month-old infants with prenatal dexamethasone therapy (PDT) that persisted in female infants up to 2.5 years of age with altered bile acid metabolism. PDE female offspring rats show abnormal colonization and composition of gut microbiota and increased susceptibility to cholestatic liver injury. The aberrant gut microbiota colonization in the PDE offspring can be attributed to the inhibited Muc2 expression caused by decreased CDX2 expression before and after birth. Integrating animal and cell ex

SUBMITTER: Lu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10897547 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature