It is common for pregnant mothers who deliver prematurely to be treated with antibiotics during their pregnancy and postnatally. And it is well-documented that the premie population is strikingly dysbiotic and at great risk for a range of disorders including cognitive difficulties, feeding problems, GI disease, as well as disorders of social development, including the autism spectrum and schizophrenia.
Study Aim
Whether a microbiota targeted treatment (2’-FL) will support responsivity to social stimuli and rescue the development of social-emotional behaviors in the dysbiotic offspring of ABx-treated mothers.
Scientific Approach
Mouse model in which pregnant dams consume antibiotics, become dysbiotic, and produce offspring that are similarly dysbiotic. From early life through early adulthood, these off-spring manifest neurobehavioral markers of disrupted social behavior as well as behavioral indices of anxiety and poor sociality. The efficacy of the oligosaccharide milk constituent, 2’-fucosyllactose (2'-FL), in resetting a healthy trajectory of neurobehavioral development will be studied.
Expected Outcomes
The results of this research proposal will provide insights into gut-brain regulations involving neurodevelopment and initiate significant promise of applicable prebiotic solutions.
