NIH Reporter #5R01HD109095-05

Targeting opportunistic pathogens to improve maternal obesity-associated health outcomes in offspring

This NIH research grant funds a study at Baylor College of Medicine investigating how maternal obesity and diet-induced changes in the gut microbiome affect offspring cognitive health, aiming to develop preventative treatments.

Description

Prepregnancy obesity predisposes affected offspring to adverse long-term health outcomes, including cognitive dysfunction; yet, the underlying pathophysiology remains unclear. Our interdisciplinary study in a mouse model for diet-induced obesity will test the two-part hypothesis that (1) Western diet-induced dysbiosis of the maternal gut microbiome is causally related to offspring neurocognitive dysfunction and (2) antenatal targeting of the maternal gut microbiome can improve offspring brain development and cognitive outcomes. Successful completion of the aims will reveal the impact of Western diet consumption on the structure and function of the maternal gut microbiome and microbially-derived metabolome during pregnancy, elucidate the molecular and neurophysiological mechanisms by which opportunistic pathogenic bacteria increased by Western diet consumption impair host cognitive function, and identify targeted modulation of the maternal gut microbiome as an innovative approach to improving cognitive health outcomes in children affected by maternal prepregnancy diet-induced obesity.

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