Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter
Abstract Objective Prenatal stress has been proven to be associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Despite the established phenomenon that psychological stress can be transmitted to offspring and the ability of maternal gut microbiota to colonize the offspring’s gut through vertical transmiss...
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2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03088-y |
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| author | Yuexuan Liu Junlin Hou Zhaoyao Qi Liping Yang Zhixin Du Yongye Wu Qi Song Xiaobing Li Jianhua Sun Ping Chen Xutao Guan Lingling Li |
| author_facet | Yuexuan Liu Junlin Hou Zhaoyao Qi Liping Yang Zhixin Du Yongye Wu Qi Song Xiaobing Li Jianhua Sun Ping Chen Xutao Guan Lingling Li |
| author_sort | Yuexuan Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective Prenatal stress has been proven to be associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Despite the established phenomenon that psychological stress can be transmitted to offspring and the ability of maternal gut microbiota to colonize the offspring’s gut through vertical transmission, the intricate relationships linking cross-generational depression with the microbiome remain poorly understood. Methods We utilized combined fear stress stimuli to establish a pregnancy psychological stress (PPS) rat model, in which offspring exhibited trans-generational depression-like behavior. The relationship between vertical transmission of the gut microbiome, intergenerational effects, and psychological stress in offspring was investigated using microbiology and metabolomics. Results We demonstrated that the vertical transmission of co-altered species from PPS dams to their puberty offspring was strongly associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in the offspring. In terms of microbial function, both PPS dams and their offspring exhibited upregulation of glycine, glutamate, and serine metabolism in fecal samples, as revealed by untargeted metabolomics. Additionally, this microbial trans-generational effect was reflected in the prefrontal cortical tissue of PPS offspring, where serine in the pathway and its interconverted glycine was significantly increased. Furthermore, the co-altered species and metabolites of the pathway formed a highly correlated module with disordered inflammatory factors and neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex tissue of PPS offspring. This indicates that the microbiome plays a significant role in prefrontal cortex neuroinflammation as well as neurotransmitter disorders in depression-like offspring. Conclusions Our findings highlight the gut microbiome as a plausible mediator of prenatal stress effects on offspring neurodevelopment, though further mechanistic validation is required. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c384874fdf0840aaa2be8362332bd937 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c384874fdf0840aaa2be8362332bd9372025-08-20T03:46:17ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-07-0113111510.1186/s40359-025-03088-yPrenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitterYuexuan Liu0Junlin Hou1Zhaoyao Qi2Liping Yang3Zhixin Du4Yongye Wu5Qi Song6Xiaobing Li7Jianhua Sun8Ping Chen9Xutao Guan10Lingling Li11School of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical UniversitySchool of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese, Henan University of Chinese MedicineFirst Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese MedicineFirst Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese MedicineFirst Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese MedicineFirst Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese MedicineAbstract Objective Prenatal stress has been proven to be associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Despite the established phenomenon that psychological stress can be transmitted to offspring and the ability of maternal gut microbiota to colonize the offspring’s gut through vertical transmission, the intricate relationships linking cross-generational depression with the microbiome remain poorly understood. Methods We utilized combined fear stress stimuli to establish a pregnancy psychological stress (PPS) rat model, in which offspring exhibited trans-generational depression-like behavior. The relationship between vertical transmission of the gut microbiome, intergenerational effects, and psychological stress in offspring was investigated using microbiology and metabolomics. Results We demonstrated that the vertical transmission of co-altered species from PPS dams to their puberty offspring was strongly associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in the offspring. In terms of microbial function, both PPS dams and their offspring exhibited upregulation of glycine, glutamate, and serine metabolism in fecal samples, as revealed by untargeted metabolomics. Additionally, this microbial trans-generational effect was reflected in the prefrontal cortical tissue of PPS offspring, where serine in the pathway and its interconverted glycine was significantly increased. Furthermore, the co-altered species and metabolites of the pathway formed a highly correlated module with disordered inflammatory factors and neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex tissue of PPS offspring. This indicates that the microbiome plays a significant role in prefrontal cortex neuroinflammation as well as neurotransmitter disorders in depression-like offspring. Conclusions Our findings highlight the gut microbiome as a plausible mediator of prenatal stress effects on offspring neurodevelopment, though further mechanistic validation is required.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03088-yPrenatal stressGut microbiotaMetabolomeTransgenerational effectOffspring psychological stress |
| spellingShingle | Yuexuan Liu Junlin Hou Zhaoyao Qi Liping Yang Zhixin Du Yongye Wu Qi Song Xiaobing Li Jianhua Sun Ping Chen Xutao Guan Lingling Li Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter BMC Psychology Prenatal stress Gut microbiota Metabolome Transgenerational effect Offspring psychological stress |
| title | Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter |
| title_full | Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter |
| title_fullStr | Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter |
| title_short | Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter |
| title_sort | prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive like behaviors and neurotransmitter |
| topic | Prenatal stress Gut microbiota Metabolome Transgenerational effect Offspring psychological stress |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03088-y |
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