MINI REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1664708
This article is part of the Research TopicNew and advanced mechanistic insights into the influences of the infant gut microbiota on human health and disease, Volume IIView all 6 articles
The association between prenatal exposure and childhood asthma: the mediating role of gut microbiota
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- 2School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- 3The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- 4Shanghai Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease that usually originates in early childhood. Emerging evidence implicates the gut microbiota as a modulator in asthma development, with growing attention to the interplay between prenatal exposures, maternal/offspring gut microbiota, and subsequent asthma risk. However, no comprehensive review has systematically examined the relationships. Objective: This review aimed to explore whether the gut microbiota acts as a mediating factor in the association between prenatal exposure and childhood asthma. Results: A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases up to March 1, 2025, employing keywords related to childhood asthma, gut microbiota, and prenatal exposure. Only population-based studies were considered. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Among which, two focused on pet exposure during pregnancy, three on delivery mode, two on the combined effects of delivery mode and antibiotic exposure, and one on maternal diet. Exposure to pets during pregnancy may result in distinct microbiota profiles in the offspring, which may potentially confer a protective effect against asthma. Antibiotic use and cesarean delivery were associated with increased asthma risk. Conversely, high maternal fecal short-chain fatty acid levels appeared protective against childhood asthma development. The gut microbiota may play a mediating role in these associations. Conclusions: Prenatal factors significantly correlate with offspring gut microbiota and early immune development, thereby affecting asthma susceptibility. Further studies are needed to expand prenatal exposure assessments and elucidate the specific mechanisms by which the gut microbiota mediates the association between prenatal exposures and childhood asthma.
Keywords: Childhood asthma, Gut Microbiota, Prenatal exposure, maternal exposure during pregnancy, Wheeze
Received: 12 Jul 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ning, Zhang, Lu, Zhao, Wang, Yuan and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shenghui Li, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.