Supplementation of ovalbumin-sensitized mice with specific non-digestible oligosaccharides during pregnancy or lactation leads to desensitization in the offspring

Objectives and study: Non-digestible carbohydrates, resembling oligosaccharides present in human milk, have been shown to have beneficial effects in infants and young children. However, not much is known about their potential effects during pregnancy or lactation. Previous studies from our laboratory indicate that maternal supplementation with nondigestible carbohydrates may beneficially affect maternal and fetal immune status in mice. We therefore investigated whether supplementation during pregnancy or lactation could have long-term effects on the immune response in the offspring of both sensitized and nonsensitized dams. Methods: Female mice were sensitized orally once a week for five weeks with ovalbumin (OVA) using cholera toxin (CT) as adjuvant. Control groups received either PBS or PBS + CT. Two weeks after the last sensitization mice were mated and fed either a control diet or a specific non-digestible oligosaccharide mixture containing shortchain- Galacto-, longchain-Fructo- and Acidic-oligosaccharides (9:1:1) (scGOS/lcFOS/pAOS) during pregnancy or lactation. After weaning, female offspring were transferred to control diet and sensitized orally once a week for four weeks with OVA + CT. One week after the last sensitization, the offspring were challenged intradermally with OVA, and the acute allergic skin response was measured after one hour. Results: Compared to offspring of OVA-sensitized mice fed the control diet throughout pregnancy and lactation, the acute allergic skin response in the offspring of scGOS/lcFOS/pAOS supplemented OVA-sensitized dams was significantly reduced. This effect was observed for both the offspring of OVA-sensitized dams supplemented during pregnancy as well as lactation. In contrast to these results, supplementation did not significantly attenuate the acute allergic skin response in the offspring of dams who received PBS or PBS + CT prior to mating. Conclusion: A specific mixture of non-digestible carbohydrates significantly reduced the allergic skin response in the offspring of OVAsensitized dams. These results suggest that maternal supplementation with scGOS/lcFOS/ pAOS could have a beneficial programming effect on the immune response of offspring of sensitized mice.