The consumption of probiotics and fermented foods has been very popular in recent decades. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of probiotics on the gut microbiota and the changes in inflammatory cytokines after an average of 6.7 weeks of probiotic administration among normal pregnant women. Thirty-two healthy pregnant women at 32 weeks of gestation were recruited and divided into two groups. The probiotic group ingested combined probiotics until after birth. The base characteristics of the probiotics and control groups showed no significant differences. The structure of the fecal microbiota at the genus level varied during the third trimester, and administration of probiotics had no influence on the composition of the fecal microbiota however, many highly abundant taxa and core microbiota at the genus level changed in the probiotic group when compared to the control group. The analysis of cytokines showed that IL-5, IL-6, TNF-α, and GM-CSF had equal levels between the baseline and control groups but were significantly increased after probiotic administration (baseline = control < probiotics). Additionally, levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ significantly increased among the three groups (baseline < control < probiotics). This result demonstrated that probiotics helped to shift the anti-inflammatory state to a pro-inflammatory state. The correlation analysis outcome suggested that the relationship between the microbiota and the cytokines was not strain-dependent. The gut microbiota varied during the third trimester. The probiotics demonstrated immunomodulation effects that helped to switch over to a pro-inflammatory immune state in the third trimester, which was important for labor.

Background: Probiotic supplementation has been shown to be beneficial and is now widely promoted as an auxiliary medicine for maternal health, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Thus, this study aimed to explore the effects of probiotic supplementation on the placental autophagy-related proteins LC3 and Beclin1. Method: A population-based cohort of specimens was collected under sterile conditions from 37 healthy nulliparous pregnant women who underwent systemic examination and delivered at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University (Guangzhou, China). At 32 weeks of gestation, the pregnant women in the probiotic group were orally supplemented with golden bifid, and the pregnant women in the control group received no probiotic. Pregnant women with pregnancy-associated complications were excluded in the follow-up period, and 25 pregnant women undergoing spontaneous delivery were enrolled. The placental tissue specimens were collected at term. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression, and qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of the placental autophagy-related proteins LC3 and Beclin1. Results: ①There was no significant difference in the expression levels of either LC3 or Beclin1 protein between the two groups (P > 0.05). ②Probiotic supplementation induced a modest but not significant decrease in the content of LC3-mRNA with a significant decrease in the content of Beclin1-mRNA (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study indicates that probiotic supplementation may reduce Beclin1-mRNA levels.

BackgroundProbiotic supplementation has been popular and widespread, yet we still lack a comprehensive understanding of how probiotic supplementation during pregnancy affects the gut microbial networks of pregnant women and infants. In this study, we firstly used network analysis to compare the gut microbiota of pregnant women with and without probiotic supplementation, as well as their infants.MethodsThirty-one pairs of healthy pregnant women and infants were recruited and randomly divided into the probiotic group (15 mother-infant pairs) and the control group (16 mother-infant pairs). Pregnant women in the probiotic group consumed combined probiotics from 32 weeks to delivery. Fecal samples were collected from pregnant women and infants at several time points. Gut microbiota was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Intestinal microbial network and topological properties were performed using the molecular ecological network analysis.ResultsNo significant difference was found between the probiotic and control groups on the microbial alpha and beta diversity. As the gestational age increased, the total links, average degree, average clustering coefficient, robustness, and the proportion of positive correlations were increased in pregnant women with probiotics administration. In contrast, these indices were decreased in infants in the probiotic group.ConclusionProbiotic supplement does not change the microbial diversity of pregnant women and infants, but significantly alters the intestinal microbial network structure and properties. Although pregnant women have more complicated and stable networks after probiotic administration, their infants have less stable networks.

AimTo evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation on the vaginal microbiome and provide the effective evidences for clinical management of pregnant women.MethodsA total of 28 healthy pregnant women at 32 weeks of gestation were enrolled. The women were divided randomly to the probiotic group where they were prescribed with 2 g combined probiotics daily (13 cases) during the third trimester of pregnancy or to the control group (15 cases) on a voluntary basis. Their vaginal samples were taken for analyzing microbiome with the 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing of V4 region.ResultsThere was no significant difference on the clinical characteristics between the probiotic and control groups. The complexity of vaginal microbial network increased from 32 weeks of gestation to antepartum. Lactobacillus was the dominant microbiota. The probiotic supplementation had no obvious influence on the structure of the vaginal microbiome, whereas the relationships of some pivotal vaginal microbiota at the genus level changed in the probiotic group.ConclusionThe vaginal microbiome varied during the third trimester of pregnancy. The features of the vaginal microbiota after probiotic supplementation had shifted and the interaction network had the tendency to be loose. The probiotic supplementation may be useful in regulating the interaction network of vaginal microbiome.