Preconception maternal gut dysbiosis affects enteric nervous system development and disease susceptibility in offspring via the GPR41-GDNF/RET/SOX10 signaling pathway.

ABSTRACT: Maternal health, specifically changes in the gut microbiota, can profoundly impact offspring health; however, our understanding of how gut microbiota alterations during the preconception period influence the offspring remains limited. In this study, we investigated the impact and mechanisms of preconception maternal gut dysbiosis on the development of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in mice. We found that preconception maternal exposure to antibiotics led to the abnormal development of the ENS in offspring, increasing their susceptibility to water avoidance stress at the adult stage. Metagenomic, targeted metabolomic, and transcriptomic analyses revealed that preconception antibiotic exposure disrupted the expression of genes crucial for embryonic ENS development by altering maternal gut

SUBMITTER: Zhang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11995169 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature