AUTHOR=De Santis Stefania , Scarano Aurelia , Liso Marina , Calabrese Francesco Maria , Verna Giulio , Cavalcanti Elisabetta , Sila Annamaria , Lippolis Antonio , De Angelis Maria , Santino Angelo , Chieppa Marcello 

TITLE=Polyphenol Enriched Diet Administration During Pregnancy and Lactation Prevents Dysbiosis in Ulcerative Colitis Predisposed Littermates

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.622327

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.622327

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Ulcerative colitis incidence peaks during reproductive years, reducing chances of pregnancy due to the clinical manifestation of the disease and the effects on patients’ psychology. Among IBD patients in reproductive years, only 25% experience pregnancy after the IBD diagnosis. Neonatal colonization of the gastrointestinal tract depends on mother microbiome, thus mother microbiota dysbiosis is transmitted to the offspring during the delivery and shaped by breastmilk characteristics.
Here we used a murine model of UC predisposition (Winnie-/-) to evaluate the effects of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation. Using heterozygous breeders, we obtained both Winnie-/- and C57BL/6 littermates from the same mother and compared their microbiota at weaning and adult age, using a diet enriched with 1% tomato fruit of a line – named Bronze – highly enriched in bioactive polyphenols, or control WT tomato. Winnie littermates from breeders fed with the Bronze-enriched diet showed reduced dysbiosis at 4 weeks of age if compared with Winnie under the WT tomato diet. This effect was then reduced when mice reached adult age. Conversely, the microbiota of C57BL/6 does not change significantly, indicating that fortified mothers-diet significantly contribute preventing dysbiosis in genetically predisposed offspring, but has mild effects on healthy littermates and adult mice.