Microbiota have an important function in shaping and priming neonatal immunity, although the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain obscure. Here we report that prenatal antibiotic exposure causes significant elevation of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in neonatal lungs, in both cell numbers and functionality. Downregulation of type 1 interferon signaling in ILC2s due to diminished production of microbiota-derived butyrate represents the underlying mechanism. Mice lacking butyrate receptor GPR41 (Gpr41 -/- ) or type 1 interferon receptor IFNAR1 (Ifnar1 -/- ) recapitulate the phenotype of neonatal ILC2s upon maternal antibiotic exposure. Furthermore, prenatal antibiotic exposure induces epigenetic changes in ILC2s and has a long-lasting deteriorative effect on allergic airway inflammation in adult offspring. Prenatal supplementation of butyrate ameliorates airway inflammation in adult mice born to antibiotic-exposed dams. These observations demonstrate an essential role for the microbiota in the control of type 2 innate immunity at the neonatal stage, which suggests a therapeutic window for treating asthma in early life.
Keyphrases
- early life
- pregnant women
- nk cells
- dendritic cells
- cell proliferation
- signaling pathway
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- immune response
- gene expression
- single cell
- high fat diet induced
- low birth weight
- dna methylation
- pregnancy outcomes
- fatty acid
- adipose tissue
- birth weight
- cell death
- high fat diet
- young adults
- lung function
- air pollution
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- childhood cancer