Butyrate-producing bacteria in pregnancy maintenance: mitigating dysbiosis-induced preterm birth

May 12, 2025Journal of translational medicine

Bacteria that make butyrate may help prevent early birth caused by imbalanced pregnancy microbes

AI simplified

Gut-Brain Axis on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Abstract

in a mouse model increased preterm birth rates to 43.3% compared to 0% in controls.

Maternal gut microbiota appears to influence pregnancy outcomes through immune regulation.
supplementation in dysbiotic mice reduced preterm birth incidence and restored regulatory T cell levels.
Significant reductions in butyrate-producing bacteria were observed in fecal samples from women with spontaneous preterm birth.
The abundance of specific gut bacteria was independently linked to an increased risk of preterm birth.
Findings suggest that restoring gut microbiota balance may help maintain pregnancy and reduce preterm birth rates.

AI simplified

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth (PTB) is a major contributor to neonatal morbidity, mortality, and long-term health complications. Despite advances in perinatal care, PTB rates remain high, and its multifactorial etiology is not fully understood. Increasing evidence suggests that maternal gut microbiota plays a critical role in pregnancy maintenance, potentially through modulation of immune responses. However, the underlying causal mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that disrupts immune tolerance and promotes PTB, and that (short-chain fatty acid produced by specific gut bacteria) may counteract this effect by enhancing regulatory T cell (Treg)-mediated immune regulation.

METHODS: We established a dysbiosis-induced PTB mouse model using vancomycin treatment combined with subclinical immune activation via anti-CD3ε antibody. Pregnant mice were fed either a standard or butyrate-enriched diet. Outcomes included gestational length, PTB incidence, live pup rates, and Treg cell levels assessed by flow cytometry. Parallelly, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on fecal samples from 32 pregnant women to compare gut microbial composition between spontaneous PTB and term birth groups. Multivariate logistic regression and correlation analyses were conducted to assess associations with gestational outcomes.

RESULTS: Vancomycin-induced dysbiosis in mice significantly reduced Treg cell populations and increased PTB rates (43.3% in dysbiosis vs. 0% in controls; p < 0.05), while butyrate supplementation reduced PTB incidence (p = 0.03), prolonged gestation (p = 0.01), and restored Treg counts (p < 0.001). In human samples, significant reductions in Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, representative butyrate-producing bacteria, were seen in PTB cases. Their combined abundance was independently associated with sPTB risk (p = 0.019) and positively correlated with gestational age (r = 0.59, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that maternal dysbiosis increases PTB risk via impaired immune tolerance, and that butyrate supplementation effectively reverses this effect in vivo. Human data support the translational relevance of butyrate-producing microbiota in pregnancy maintenance. These results highlight butyrate as a promising target for dietary interventions aimed at reducing PTB incidence by restoring immune homeostasis. Trial registration Not applicable.

Key numbers

43.3%

Preterm Birth Rate Increase

PTB rate in model vs. control group

p = 0.03

's Effect on PTB Incidence

Comparison of PTB rates with and without supplementation

r = 0.59

Association with Gestational Age

Correlation between bacterial abundance and gestational age

Full Text

We can’t show the full text here under this license. Use the link below to read it at the source.

View full text (PDF) ↗View full text (HTML) ↗

Butyrate-producing bacteria in pregnancy maintenance: mitigating dysbiosis-induced preterm birth

Abstract

Key numbers

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the gut-brain axis brief

Abstract

Key numbers

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the gut-brain axis brief