Maternal Fecal Transplant May Reduce The Risk For Type 1 Diabetes

Maternal fecal transplant may restore gut microorganisms among the newborns at risk for Type 1 diabetes that was caused as a result of antibiotics administration, states a study at the Rutgers University, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. One of the most common autoimmune diseases in childhood is Type 1 diabetes. The trillions of beneficial microorganisms – microbiome in and on our bodies are disturbed due to antibiotics. This poses a risk for Type 1 diabetes among the newborns.

"Our previous work has shown that exposing young animals to antibiotics perturbs the microbiome, which may change age-associated immunity and organ-specific inflammation, increasing risk of immune-mediated diseases," says co-author Martin Blaser, director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers.

The Transplant Againt Diabetes

The study team hence conducted a genetic analysis on mice models to compare differences between those that were exposed to antibiotics between days 5 and 10 of life and given a transplant of maternal microbiota up to a week later, and those that were not.

It was found that the group of mice that received the transplant had their microbiome partially restored. Along with this, their risk of diabetes was also brought back to the baseline level.

"The mice that were exposed to antibiotics had the expression of indicator genes in their intestinal wall that were either too high or too low, but the transplant brought that back almost to the original levels and restored metabolic pathways. We were able to identify groups of genes that returned to normal after the transplant as if the mice had never received the antibiotics," says co-author Xue-Song Zhang, an assistant research professor at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers.

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The study thereby depicts that the microbiome can be reversed by transplanting fecal microbiota from the mother into the baby’s gastrointestinal tract – a potential therapeutic approach!

Source-Medindia