Title : Lactobacillus dominates the gut microbiome of Blood Pressure high (BPH)/5 mice after weight loss and attenuation of hypertension.
Abstract:
Obesity in women before and during early pregnancy has been associated with adverse outcomes, including preeclampsia. Early pregnancy weight gain in mothers is predictive of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in offspring. Obese BPH/5 female mice that are hyperphagic have increased blood pressure with pregnancy mimicking women with obesity that develop preeclampsia. BPH/5 pregnant gut microbiome is populated by high abundance of Alistipes, which are major producers of pro-inflammatory lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and decreased Bacteroides and Lactobacillus, which are high in normal pregnancies. By pair-feeding BPH/5 to control mice, we match food intake in early and mid-pregnancy and prevent excess weight gain and late gestational rise in blood pressure and restore Bacteroides and Lactobacillus. We hypothesized BPH/5 offspring born to pair-fed dams would have attenuation of cardiometabolic disease and a gut microbiome containing higher Lactobacillus.
Lactobacillus is thought to play a major role in preventing overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria. Bacterial vaginosis is characterized by a reduction in Lactobacillus, which would be a dysbiosis of the natural vaginal microbiome and could be detrimental to pregnancy. During healthy pregnancies an overall increase in genera, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides, within the vagina has been shown. Intravaginal therapies during pregnancy may not be advised, therefore oral probiotics hold promise to improve pregnancy outcomes. Ad libitum fed BPH/5 females born to pair-fed dams have lower body weight and adiposity, reduced blood pressure, and higher Lactobacillus in their gut microbiome. In summary, our defined time and specific intervention improves PE associated adverse outcomes will provide fundamental data to pursue additional novel mechanisms for improved women’s health across the lifespan.
Audience Take Away:
- This research highlights the importance of the gut microbiome in models of cardiometabolic disease, including pregnancy-related preeclampsia.
- Altering the gut microbiome through diet may prevent cardiometabolic disease in mothers and offspring born from adverse pregnancies.
- Inclusion of microbiome research and testing probiotics to alter the microbiome have potential for reversing inherited obesity and hypertension.
