Microbiome Changes in Pregnancy Disorders

Abstract

The human microbiota comprises all microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, found within a specific environment that live on our bodies and inside us. The last few years have witnessed an explosion of information related to the role of microbiota changes in health and disease. Even though the gut microbiota is considered the most important in maintaining our health, other regions of the human body, such as the oral cavity, lungs, vagina, and skin, possess their own microbiota. Recent work suggests a correlation between the microbiota present during pregnancy and pregnancy complications. The aim of our literature review was to provide a broad overview of this growing and important topic. We focused on the most significant changes in the microbiota in the four more common obstetric diseases affecting women's health. Thus, our attention will be focused on hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, and recurrent miscarriage. Pregnancy is a unique period in a woman's life since the body undergoes different adaptations to provide an optimal environment for fetal growth. Such changes also involve all the microorganisms, which vary in composition and quantity during the three trimesters of gestation. In addition, special attention will be devoted to the potential and fundamental advances in developing clinical applications to prevent and treat those disorders by modulating the microbiota to develop personalized therapies for disease prevention and tailored treatments.

Keywords: dysbiosis; gestational diabetes; hypertensive disorders; microbiome; pregnancy; pregnancy disorders; preterm birth; recurrent miscarriage.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the main physiological changes in the maternal microbiome during pregnancy. The Figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art, provided by Servier, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

Figure 2

Schematic representation of the main alterations in the maternal microbiome in pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders. The Figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art, provided by Servier, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license.

Figure 3

Schematic representation of the main alterations in the maternal microbiome in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes. The Figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art, provided by Servier, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license.

Figure 4

Schematic representation of the main alterations in the maternal microbiome in pregnancies complicated by preterm birth. The Figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art, provided by Servier, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license.

Figure 5

Schematic representation of the main alterations in the maternal microbiome in women suffering from recurrent miscarriage. The Figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art, provided by Servier, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license.