Administering Antibiotics During Pregnancy Increases Offspring Asthma Severity In A Dose-Dependent Manner

Introduction: Many retrospective studies have linked asthma, the leading chronic disease in children worldwide, with antibiotic use during pregnancy or in early life. However, neither the causal relationship nor the possible mechanisms have been clearly defined. Additionally, existing mouse models treat both mothers and offspring with antibiotic, making it difficult to investigate the maternal/prenatal contribution to offspring asthma susceptibility. To deal with these issues, we designed a model where treatment of mothers with antibiotic only during pregnancy results in increased offspring asthma severity.