Both maternal microbiota and helminth infection may alter offspring immunity but the relationship between these is underexplored. We hypothesized that maternal helminth exposure prior to pregnancy has lasting consequences on offspring intestinal microbiota and consequent immunity. Female BALB/c adult mice were infected with 500L3 Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (N brasiliensis ). Infection was cleared by ivermectin treatment, and mice were mated 3 weeks post‐infection (NbM). Control mice were not infected but were exposed to ivermectin (NvM). We analysed maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy, breastmilk microbiota and offspring faecal microbiota and immunity 2 weeks after delivery. During pregnancy, NbM (Mothers previously infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis) displayed significantly altered stool bacterial communities (R ² = .242; P  = .001), with increased abundance of Enterococcaceae versus NvM (Naive mothers). Similarly, we observed a profound impact on breastmilk microbiota in NbM vs NvM. Moreover, NbM pups showed significantly altered gut microbial communities at 14 days of age versus those born to NvM with increased relative abundance of Coriobacteriaceae and Micrococcaceae. These changes were associated with alterations in pup immunity including increased frequencies and numbers of activated CD4 T cells (CD4 + CD44hi) in NbM offspring spleens. Taken together, we show that preconception helminth infections impact offspring immunity possibly through alteration of maternal and offspring microbiota.

中文翻译：

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孕前蠕虫感染改变了小鼠模型中的后代微生物群和免疫亚群。

母体微生物群和蠕虫感染都可能改变后代的免疫力，但它们之间的关系尚未得到充分探索。我们假设孕前接触母体蠕虫会对后代肠道微生物群和随之而来的免疫产生持久影响。雌性 BALB/c 成年小鼠感染 500L3 Nippostrongylus brasiliensis ( N brasiliensis）。通过伊维菌素治疗清除感染，并在感染后 3 周（NbM）将小鼠交配。对照小鼠未感染但暴露于伊维菌素 (NvM)。我们分析了怀孕期间母体肠道微生物群、母乳微生物群和后代粪便微生物群以及分娩后 2 周的免疫力。在怀孕期间，NbM（先前感染巴西日圆线虫的母亲）显示出显着改变的粪便细菌群落（R ²  = .242；P = .001），肠球菌科的丰度与 NvM（幼稚的母亲）相比有所增加。同样，我们观察到 NbM 与 NvM 对母乳微生物群的深远影响。此外，与 NvM 出生的幼崽相比，NbM 幼崽在 14 日龄时显示出显着改变的肠道微生物群落，其中 Coriobacteriaceae 和 Micrococcaceae 的相对丰度增加。这些变化与幼崽免疫的改变有关，包括 NbM 后代脾脏中活化 CD4 T 细胞 (CD4 + CD44hi) 的频率和数量增加。总之，我们表明，孕前蠕虫感染可能通过改变母体和后代微生物群来影响后代免疫力。