In recent years, there has been intensive research on the impact of early intestinal microbiota development on an individual’s health, not only in childhood but also in later stages of life. It has been shown that the diversity and composition of microorganisms and what they produce play a key role in many processes, including the development of the immune system. Therefore, it is important to understand how various factors encountered in childhood influence this colonization. Significant exposure factors include the administration of antibiotics during childbirth, which is quite common in the Czech Republic. The research team led by Petra Bořilová Linhartová from the RECETOX center focused on how administered antibiotics can affect the presence of these microorganisms in the first days of a newborn’s life.
The research aimed to describe the differences in the colonization of the oral cavity and intestines by bacteria in the first days after birth in newborns, depending on whether they were exposed to the effects of antibiotics during childbirth. Antibiotics are commonly used during childbirth to protect the mother from the risk of infections, especially during cesarean sections and premature rupture of membranes. They are also used if the mother tests positive for group B streptococci (GBS) at the end of pregnancy, as these bacteria are pathogens that cause infections in newborns, such as sepsis, pneumonia, meningitis, etc.
As mentioned earlier, the diversity and composition of microorganisms and what they produce play a key role in many processes, including the development of the immune system. Therefore, it is important to understand how various factors encountered in childhood influence this colonization. The exposure factor of administering antibiotics during childbirth, which is quite common in the Czech Republic, is significant, among other reasons, because there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cesarean sections worldwide in recent decades. While the global cesarean section rate was approximately 7 % in 1990, it rose to 21 % by 2021. Another factor is the high prevalence of women testing positive for GBS during pregnancy, which is approximately 18% worldwide. Although the prophylaxis of the woman and child during childbirth and birth is a priority, it is also necessary to consider the subsequent prevention of the consequences of administering antibiotics during childbirth, such as supplementing the child with suitable probiotics, which is not always considered.
The first step to understanding the role of present factors is to precisely characterize changes in the microbiota, which is possible thanks to advanced sequencing methods that have become much more accessible in recent years. “Sequencing allows us to analyze microbial genetic information in samples in detail and reveal the relative representation of bacteria, microscopic fungi, and viruses. This process begins by obtaining DNA from samples such as stool or oral mucosa swabs. We then ‘read’ it using sequencing technologies and determine the taxonomic classification of microorganisms using databases. This is followed by statistical data analysis and interpretation,” explains the lead author of the study, Eliška Pivrncová.
The results of the study showed that the effect of antibiotics during childbirth is evident in the oral cavity of the newborn within the first 48 hours. Subsequently, the differences between newborns delivered without and with antibiotic coverage are suppressed, which may be due to the rapid colonization of this area in the first days of life. In the first stool, known as meconium, no changes in the diversity of the bacteriome or the representation of bacterial genera were observed between these groups of newborns. In the transitional stool, which is usually passed after 48 hours from birth, the effect of antibiotics administered during childbirth on the representation of certain bacterial genera was observed. “The question remains how long or whether the differences in the stool bacteriome between newborns delivered with and without antibiotic coverage will disappear. We would like to investigate this in a follow-up study,” adds the head of the research team, Petra Bořilová Linhartová.
This research is the result of collaboration between the Population Studies research groups and the Microbiome Analysis Laboratories of the RECETOX Research Infrastructure, along with maternity hospitals in Brno, where the CELSPAC: TNG cohort is being collected. It is a unique project of Masaryk University, which conducts long-term research to uncover the causes of chronic diseases and developmental disorders in children.
The study was supported by the RECETOX Research Infrastructure (ID LM2023069) and the project CETOCOEN EXCELLENCE (No CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_043/0009632) financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for supportive background. This work was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Health, the Czech Republic (FNBr, 65269705). Computational resources were supplied by the project “e-Infrastruktura CZ” (e-INFRA CZ LM2018140) supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. This work was supported from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 857560 and from the Horizon Europe program under grant agreement No 101136566.
Published in Scientific Reports.
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