Maternal‐driven immune education in offspring

Abstract

SummaryMaternal environmental exposures, particularly during gestation and lactation, significantly influence the immunological development and long‐term immunity of offspring. Mammalian immune systems develop through crucial inputs from the environment, beginning in utero and continuing after birth. These critical developmental windows are essential for proper immune system development and, once closed, may not be reopened. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which maternal exposures, particularly to pathogens, diet, and microbiota, impact offspring immunity. Mechanisms driving maternal‐offspring immune crosstalk include transfer of maternal antibodies, changes in the maternal microbiome and microbiota‐derived metabolites, and transfer of immune cells and cytokines via the placenta and breastfeeding. We further discuss the role of transient maternal infections, which are common during pregnancy, in providing tissue‐specific immune education to offspring. We propose a “maternal‐driven immune education” hypothesis, which suggests that offspring can use maternal encounters that occur during a critical developmental window to develop optimal immune fitness against infection and inflammation.

The ontogeny of immune tolerance: a model of the early-life gut microbiome and adaptive immunity

“…Both inherent microbial factors and maternal cues determine how microbe-immune interactions unfold during early life: symbiotic commensals provide metabolic products that establish regulatory pathways facilitating a balanced immune response, whereas pathogens stimulate the immune system to develop defense mechanisms. Breastmilk delivers not only microbes and nutrients, but also antibodies that dictate the timing and nature of bacterial antigen presentation to the infant’s developing immune system, establishing a transgenerational cycle of immune priming ( 11, 12 ). The collective influence of these processes on immune ontogeny and maturation is encapsulated by the term ‘immune education’ ( 13 ).…”