intestinal microbiome of premature newborn

• Project/Area Number: 17K10173
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Embryonic/Neonatal medicine
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: KAKIUCHI SATSUKI 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (20447395)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
• Keywords: マイクロバイオーム / 新生児 / 遺伝子発現解析 / 免疫 / 早産児マイクロバイオーム解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Fetuses are almost aseptic in the uterine enviroment. There are many things to be clarified about how microbiomes are formed in neonates after birth and how the microbiome formation interacts with the hosts' health. Our current reserach revealed several important findings on this issue. First, although meconium taken just after birth is almost aseptic, there are subtle difference in the intestinal bacterial flora depending on the modes of delivery. Second, the intestinal bacterial flora changes after birth with increasing diversity and the differnce due to the modes of delivery is maintained to one month after delivery. Third, flow cytometric analysis showed that the propotion of the regulatory T cells changes drastically after birth and the gene expression of the immune cells is different depending on the modes of delivery. These data would have important role in the future research on the microbiome and immune systems of the fetuses and the newborn.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

今回の解析により、分娩様式が生後の新生児の腸管細菌叢形成に影響を与えることが示された。また、免疫担当細胞が生後どのように変化していくかはこれまでデータがなかったが、今回の解析で急激な変化が起こっていることも示され、この変化に分娩様式が影響することもわかり、これは新しい知見である。新生児の腸管マイクロバイオームの形成過程や、マイクロバイオームと宿主の健康維持や疾病発症とのかかわりについてはいまだ不明な点が多いが、これを解明するうえで一助となる研究が施行できた。