Microbiome-producing SCFAs Are Associated with Preterm Birth Via Trophoblast Function Modulation

Overview

Journal mBio

Publisher American Society for Microbiology

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2024 Nov 11

PMID 39526775

Authors

Lulu Meng

Meng Meng

Ruonan Zhang

Ayinisa Wubulikasimu

Hao Peng

Lu Zhang

Xinwen Chang

Guihai Ai

Gang Zou

Qizhi He

Kai Wang

Ming Liu

Tao Duan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Importance: Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of infant mortality and long-term health issues, affecting millions of families worldwide. Despite its prevalence, the exact causes of PTB remain unclear. Our study reveals that certain bacteria and their metabolic byproducts in the cervicovaginal environment, specifically short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), are linked to the risk of preterm birth. By analyzing samples from pregnant women, we found that an imbalance in the vaginal microbiota and increased levels of SCFAs are associated with changes in cells that can lead to early labor. This research provides new insights into how the microbiome influences pregnancy outcomes and highlights potential biomarkers for predicting preterm birth. Understanding these microbial influences could lead to innovative strategies for early diagnosis and prevention, ultimately improving maternal and infant health.

References

Pavlidis I, Spiller O, Sammut Demarco G, Macpherson H, Howie S, Norman J . Cervical epithelial damage promotes Ureaplasma parvum ascending infection, intrauterine inflammation and preterm birth induction in mice. Nat Commun. 2020; 11(1):199. PMC: 6954262. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14089-y. View

Romero R, Hassan S, Gajer P, Tarca A, Fadrosh D, Bieda J . The vaginal microbiota of pregnant women who subsequently have spontaneous preterm labor and delivery and those with a normal delivery at term. Microbiome. 2014; 2:18. PMC: 4066267. DOI: 10.1186/2049-2618-2-18. View

Perin J, Mulick A, Yeung D, Villavicencio F, Lopez G, Strong K . Global, regional, and national causes of under-5 mortality in 2000-19: an updated systematic analysis with implications for the Sustainable Development Goals. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2021; 6(2):106-115. PMC: 8786667. DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00311-4. View

Amabebe E, Reynolds S, Stern V, Parker J, Stafford G, Paley M . Identifying metabolite markers for preterm birth in cervicovaginal fluid by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Metabolomics. 2016; 12:67. PMC: 4783437. DOI: 10.1007/s11306-016-0985-x. View

Garite T, Clark R, Elliott J, Thorp J . Twins and triplets: the effect of plurality and growth on neonatal outcome compared with singleton infants. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2004; 191(3):700-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.03.040. View

Doyle R, Alber D, Jones H, Harris K, Fitzgerald F, Peebles D . Term and preterm labour are associated with distinct microbial community structures in placental membranes which are independent of mode of delivery. Placenta. 2014; 35(12):1099-101. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2014.10.007. View

Romero R, Sirtori M, Oyarzun E, Avila C, Mazor M, Callahan R . Infection and labor. V. Prevalence, microbiology, and clinical significance of intraamniotic infection in women with preterm labor and intact membranes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1989; 161(3):817-24. DOI: 10.1016/0002-9378(89)90409-2. View

Ghartey J, Bastek J, Brown A, Anglim L, Elovitz M . Women with preterm birth have a distinct cervicovaginal metabolome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015; 212(6):776.e1-776.e12. PMC: 4877183. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.052. View

Munoz A, Hayward M, Bloom S, Rocafort M, Ngcapu S, Mafunda N . Modeling the temporal dynamics of cervicovaginal microbiota identifies targets that may promote reproductive health. Microbiome. 2021; 9(1):163. PMC: 8314590. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01096-9. View

10.

Davis R, Stiles M, deBethizy J, Reynolds J . Dietary nicotine: a source of urinary cotinine. Food Chem Toxicol. 1991; 29(12):821-7. DOI: 10.1016/0278-6915(91)90109-k. View

11.

Collins M, Jovita M, Hutson R, OHLEN M, Falsen E . Aerococcus christensenii sp. nov., from the human vagina. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1999; 49 Pt 3:1125-8. DOI: 10.1099/00207713-49-3-1125. View

12.

Hu J, Wei M, Mirzaei H, Madia F, Mirisola M, Amparo C . Tor-Sch9 deficiency activates catabolism of the ketone body-like acetic acid to promote trehalose accumulation and longevity. Aging Cell. 2014; 13(3):457-67. PMC: 4032597. DOI: 10.1111/acel.12202. View

13.

Vilotic A, Nacka-Aleksic M, Pirkovic A, Bojic-Trbojevic Z, Dekanski D, Jovanovic Krivokuca M . IL-6 and IL-8: An Overview of Their Roles in Healthy and Pathological Pregnancies. Int J Mol Sci. 2022; 23(23). PMC: 9738067. DOI: 10.3390/ijms232314574. View

14.

Romero R, Gomez R, Chaiworapongsa T, Conoscenti G, Kim J, Kim Y . The role of infection in preterm labour and delivery. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2001; 15 Suppl 2:41-56. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-3016.2001.00007.x. View

15.

Hyman R, Fukushima M, Jiang H, Fung E, Rand L, Johnson B . Diversity of the vaginal microbiome correlates with preterm birth. Reprod Sci. 2013; 21(1):32-40. PMC: 3857766. DOI: 10.1177/1933719113488838. View

16.

Mirmonsef P, Zariffard M, Gilbert D, Makinde H, Landay A, Spear G . Short-chain fatty acids induce pro-inflammatory cytokine production alone and in combination with toll-like receptor ligands. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2011; 67(5):391-400. PMC: 3288536. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0897.2011.01089.x. View

17.

Petricevic L, Domig K, Nierscher F, Sandhofer M, Fidesser M, Krondorfer I . Characterisation of the vaginal Lactobacillus microbiota associated with preterm delivery. Sci Rep. 2014; 4:5136. PMC: 4038809. DOI: 10.1038/srep05136. View

18.

Petrova M, Reid G, Vaneechoutte M, Lebeer S . Lactobacillus iners: Friend or Foe?. Trends Microbiol. 2016; 25(3):182-191. DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2016.11.007. View

19.

Callahan B, McMurdie P, Rosen M, Han A, Johnson A, Holmes S . DADA2: High-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data. Nat Methods. 2016; 13(7):581-3. PMC: 4927377. DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.3869. View

20.

Romero R, Dey S, Fisher S . Preterm labor: one syndrome, many causes. Science. 2014; 345(6198):760-5. PMC: 4191866. DOI: 10.1126/science.1251816. View