Dataset Information

Surge of immune cell formation at birth differs by mode of delivery and infant characteristics-A population-based cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Birth by cesarean section is associated with increased risks of immune disorders. We tested whether establishment of immune function at birth relates to mode of delivery, taking other maternal and infant characteristics into account.

Methods and findings

Using a prospectively collected database, we retrieved information on maternal and infant characteristics of 6,014 singleton infants delivered from February to April 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden, with gestational age ?35 weeks, Apgar scores ?7, and without congenital malformations or any neonatal morbidity. We linked our data to blood levels of T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC) and ?-deleting recombination excision circles (KREC), determined as part of a neonatal screening program for immune-deficiencies, and representing quantities of newly formed T- and B-lymphocytes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for participants having TREC and KREC levels in the lowest quintile. Multivariate models were adjusted for postnatal age at blood sampling, and included perinatal (mode of delivery, infant sex, gestational age, and birth weight for gestational age), and maternal characteristics (age, parity, BMI, smoking, diabetes, and hypertensive disease). Low TREC was associated with cesarean section before labor (adjusted OR:1.32 [95% CI 1.08-1.62]), male infant sex (aOR:1.60 [1.41-1.83]), preterm birth at 35-36 weeks of gestation (aOR:1.89 [1.21-2.96]) and small for gestational age (aOR:1.67 [1.00-2.79]). Low KREC was associated with male sex (aOR:1.32 [1.15-1.50]), postterm birth at ?42 weeks (aOR:1.43 [1.13-1.82]) and small for gestational age (aOR:2.89 [1.78-4.69]). Maternal characteristics showed no consistent associations with neonatal levels of either TREC or KREC.

Conclusion

Cesarean section before labor was associated with lower T-lymphocyte formation, irrespective of maternal characteristics, pregnancy, and neonatal risk factors. The significance of a reduced birth-related surge in lymphocyte formation for future immune function and health remains to be investigated.

SUBMITTER: Schlinzig T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5599043 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Surge of immune cell formation at birth differs by mode of delivery and infant characteristics-A population-based cohort study.

Schlinzig Titus T Johansson Stefan S Stephansson Olof O Hammarström Lennart L Zetterström Rolf H RH von Döbeln Ulrika U Cnattingius Sven S Norman Mikael M

PloS one 20170914 9

<h4>Background</h4>Birth by cesarean section is associated with increased risks of immune disorders. We tested whether establishment of immune function at birth relates to mode of delivery, taking other maternal and infant characteristics into account.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Using a prospectively collected database, we retrieved information on maternal and infant characteristics of 6,014 singleton infants delivered from February to April 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden, with gestational age ≥35 w ...[more]

PMID: 28910364

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Project description:Characterizing the skin mycobiome is necessary to define its association with the host immune system, particularly in children. In this study, we describe the skin mycobiome on the face, ventral forearm, and calf of 72 prepubescent children (aged 1 to 10 years) and their mothers, based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon sequencing. The age and delivery mode at birth are the most influential factors shaping the skin mycobiome. Compared with that of the vaginally born children, the skin mycobiome of caesarean-born children is assembled by predominantly deterministic niche-based processes and exhibits a more fragile microbial network at all three sampling sites. Moreover, vaginal delivery leads to clearer intra- and interindividual specialization of fungal structures with increasing age; this phenomenon is not observed in caesarean-born children. The maternal correlation with children also differs based on the mode of delivery; specifically, the mycobiomes of vaginally born children at younger ages are more strongly correlated with vagina-associated fungal genera (Candida and Rhodotorula), whereas those of caesarean-delivered children at elder age include more skin-associated and airborne fungal genera (Malassezia and Alternaria). Based on this ecological framework, our results suggest that the delivery mode is significantly associated with maturation of the skin fungal community in children. IMPORTANCE Human skin is permanently colonized by microbes starting at birth. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that a lack of early-life immune imprinting weakens the body's resilience against atopic disorders later in life. To better understand fungal colonization following early-life periods affected by interruption, we studied the skin mycobiomes of 73 children and their mothers. Our results suggest a differentiation of the skin mycobiomes between caesarean-born and vaginally born children. Caesarean-born children exhibit a mycobiome structure with more fitted deterministic niche-based processes, a fragile network, and an unchanged microbial dissimilarity over time. In vaginally born children, this dissimilarity increases with age. The results indicate that initial microbial colonization has a long-term impact on a child's skin mycobiome. We believe that these findings will inspire further investigations of the "hygiene hypothesis" in the human microbiome, especially in providing novel insights into influences on the development of the early-life microbiome.

Dataset Information

Surge of immune cell formation at birth differs by mode of delivery and infant characteristics-A population-based cohort study.

Background

Methods and findings

Conclusion

Publications

Surge of immune cell formation at birth differs by mode of delivery and infant characteristics-A population-based cohort study.

Similar Datasets

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