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Natural birth may strengthen immune system, mouse study shows

Date:
July 10, 2014
Source:
University of Copenhagen – The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Summary:
New knowledge about the immune system has been uncovered by a mouse study, which indicates that natural birth improves the immune system of the pups. Newborns delivered by natural birth are exposed to more bacteria from the mother. The newborn baby's immune system in this way learns to distinguish between its own harmless molecules and foreign molecules. In the experiment, pups delivered by Caesarean section showed a lower number of cells of a type that plays an important role in preventing reactive immune cells from responding to molecules from the body itself, from the diet and from harmless intestinal bacteria.
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A number of studies suggest that children delivered by Caesarean section have a different intestinal flora than children delivered by natural birth. But it is still unknown why this is the case and what it means for the immune system. Researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences therefore decided to scrutinise the impact of birth on the development of the immune system in a study of newborn mouse pups.

The study shows that pups delivered by Caesarean section had developed a lower number of cells that strengthen the immune system, says Camilla Hartmann Friis Hansen, Assistant Professor at the Department of Veterinary Disease Biology. The findings have recently been published in Journal of Immunology.

Mother's bacteria may be important

Newborns delivered by natural birth are exposed to more bacteria from the mother than those delivered by Caesarean section. According to a research hypothesis called the hygiene hypothesis, the newborn baby's immune system in this way learns to distinguish between its own harmless molecules and foreign molecules. In the experiment, pups delivered by Caesarean section showed a lower number of cells of a type that plays an important role in preventing reactive immune cells from responding to molecules from the body itself, from the diet and from harmless intestinal bacteria. Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, Chrohn's disease and allergy are precisely characterised by an over-reaction by the immune system.

The researchers then looked for signs of development of type 1 diabetes in pups delivered by Caesarean section, but found none. The next step is therefore to study whether the pups are predisposed to other autoimmune diseases and then to test the theses in clinical trials.

The experiments on mice may give us an idea of what would be interesting to study in more detail in clinical trials, so that in the long term, we may be able to develop methods for strengthening the immune system in newborns who are predisposed to autoimmune diseases, says Professor Axel Kornerup Hansen, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology.


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Materials provided by University of Copenhagen – The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. C. H. F. Hansen, L. S. F. Andersen,  ukasz Krych, S. B. Metzdorff, J. P. Hasselby, S. Skov, D. S. Nielsen, K. Buschard, L. H. Hansen, A. K. Hansen. Mode of Delivery Shapes Gut Colonization Pattern and Modulates Regulatory Immunity in Mice. The Journal of Immunology, 2014; DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1400085

Cite This Page:

University of Copenhagen – The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. "Natural birth may strengthen immune system, mouse study shows." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 July 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710081440.htm>.
University of Copenhagen – The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. (2014, July 10). Natural birth may strengthen immune system, mouse study shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710081440.htm
University of Copenhagen – The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. "Natural birth may strengthen immune system, mouse study shows." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710081440.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

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