Recent research highlights the growing importance of gut microbiota in health, influencing everything from mental health to autoimmune diseases. A new study published in The Journal of Immunology found a link between the mother’s gut microbiota and the risk of autism in offspring, suggesting it has more influence than the child’s own microbiota.

John Lukens, lead researcher, explained that the microbiome shapes brain development and calibrates the immune system’s response. The study focused on a molecule called interleukin-17a (IL-17a), which is involved in immune responses and can affect brain growth before birth.

Using lab mice, researchers found that pups born to mothers with certain microbiota developed autism-like behaviors linked to IL-17a-induced inflammation. They confirmed this by transferring fecal microbiota from one group of mice to another, causing autism-like symptoms in the second group’s pups.

While these early findings may not directly apply to humans, they suggest the mother’s gut health plays a role in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. The next step is to identify which aspects of the mother’s microbiome are involved and explore similar connections in humans.