The commensal microbes of the human gut may influence physiological changes associated with normal pregnancy, according to research published today (August 2) in Cell. Alterations in the gut microbiome through pregnancy correlate with increases in fat and inflammation, and transferring the gut microbes of late-trimester pregnant women into germ-free mice had a similar effect, suggesting a role for the microbes in metabolism changes during gestation.
The research shows “a clear shift in the composition of the microbiota during the course of pregnancy,” said David Relman, who investigates the gut bacteria at Stanford University and did not participate in the research. It’s intriguing, he said, that “these changes that take place may have some relationship to changes in maternal physiology that are well-described but not well-understood.”
Fat gain and decreases in insulin sensitivity that lead to increased blood sugar, for example, are believed to support the baby’s growth and the production ...
