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ABSTRACT: Background
Reports regarding the presence of bacteria in the fetal environment remain limited and controversial. Recently, extracellular vesicles secreted by the human gut microbiota have emerged as a novel mechanism for host-microbiota interaction. We aimed to investigate the presence of bacterial extracellular vesicles in the fetal environment during healthy pregnancies and determine whether extracellular vesicles derived from the gut microbiota can cross biological barriers to reach the fetus.Results
Bacterial extracellular vesicles were detectable in the amniotic fluid of healthy pregnant women, exhibiting similarities to extracellular vesicles found in the maternal gut microbiota. In pregnant mice, extracellular vesicles derived from human maternal gut microbiota were found to reach the intra-amniotic space.Conclusions
Our findings reveal maternal microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles as an interaction mechanism between the maternal microbiota and fetus, potentially playing a pivotal role in priming the prenatal immune system for gut colonization after birth. Video Abstract.
SUBMITTER: Kaisanlahti A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10642029 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Kaisanlahti Anna A Turunen Jenni J Byts Nadiya N Samoylenko Anatoliy A Bart Genevieve G Virtanen Nikke N Tejesvi Mysore V MV Zhyvolozhnyi Artem A Sarfraz Sonia S Kumpula Sohvi S Hekkala Jenni J Salmi Sonja S Will Olga O Korvala Johanna J Paalanne Niko N Erawijantari Pande Putu PP Suokas Marko M Medina Tuula Peñate TP Vainio Seppo S Medina Oula Peñate OP Lahti Leo L Tapiainen Terhi T Reunanen Justus J
Microbiome 20231113 1
<h4>Background</h4>Reports regarding the presence of bacteria in the fetal environment remain limited and controversial. Recently, extracellular vesicles secreted by the human gut microbiota have emerged as a novel mechanism for host-microbiota interaction. We aimed to investigate the presence of bacterial extracellular vesicles in the fetal environment during healthy pregnancies and determine whether extracellular vesicles derived from the gut microbiota can cross biological barriers to reach t ...[more]