The main hypothesis is that early dysbiosis alters development of neutrophil recruitment at the beginning of life and is associated with long lasting health consequences of preterm infants. We want to better understand how manipulation of the microbiome during pregnancy affects the development of leukocyte locomotion, to support the development of strategies promoting host resistance at the level of cellular migration and recruitment at the beginning of life. We aim to investigate:

1. whether prenatal exposure to anti- and probiotics alters the development of fetal neutrophil recruitment in mice;
2. whether prenatal priming of neutrophil recruitment translates into fetal outcome during chorioamnionitis in mice;
3. the impact of anti- and probiotics during the neonatal period on early development of neutrophil recruitment in humans as part of the PRIMAL clinical trial  (Project P1)
4. underlying mechansims of interaction between the gut microbiome and neutrophil function

We expect perinatal probiotics to ameliorate antibiotic induced dysbiosis, which in turn might interfere with innate immune response like neutrophil recruitment. The results of the study will contribute to a better understanding of prenatal priming of the immune system and may aid the development of new strategies to improve immune defense in our vulnerable patients.