Maternal Dietary Intake Alters Offspring's Disease Risk

Deanna Gibson and Sanjoy Ghosh of the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Canada will test in a mouse model whether modifying the dietary intake of pregnant mothers can lead to the establishment of healthy microflora in an offspring's intestinal tract once they are born. Maternal diets thus could be altered to help bolster the mucosal immune response and reduce susceptibility of disease in infants.