Lack of Evidence for Microbiota in the Placental and Fetal Tissues of Rhesus Macaques.

ABSTRACT: The prevailing paradigm in obstetrics has been the sterile womb hypothesis. However, some are asserting that the placenta, intra-amniotic environment, and fetus harbor microbial communities. The objective of this study was to determine whether the fetal and placental tissues of rhesus macaques harbor bacterial communities. Fetal, placental, and uterine wall samples were obtained from cesarean deliveries without labor (∼130/166 days gestation). The presence of bacteria in the fetal intestine and placenta was investigated through culture. The bacterial burden and profiles of the placenta, umbilical cord, and fetal brain, heart, liver, and colon were determined through quantitative real-time PCR and DNA sequencing. These data were compared with those of the uterine wall as well as to negative

SUBMITTER: Theis KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7203455 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature