Skip to main content
. 2021 Jan 29;7(5):eabe6563. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe6563

Fig. 7. E. coli O16:H48 impairs maternal behavior resulting in offspring malnutrition and growth stunting.

Fig. 7

Our work supports a model by which E. coli O16:H48 monocolonization impairs the maturation of maternal behaviors in dams after birth. This results in malnourishment of the offspring and negatively affects IGF-1 levels and signaling in the offspring, presumably as a consequence of the malnutrition. Administration of exogenous IGF-1 was sufficient to rescue the pathogenic effects of E. coli O16:H48 but was not sufficient to promote healthy weight growth similar to SPF mice and like the other E. coli strains tested. By contrast, dams monocolonized with E. coli O21:H21 exhibited maternal behavior comparable to GF and SPF mice. Their offspring exhibited linear growth similar to the offspring of GF dams, indicating that monocolonization with E. coli O21:H21 was not sufficient to promote linear growth observed in offspring of SPF mice. Monocolonization with E. coli O21:H21 was sufficient to promote weight gain in offspring comparable to that of SPF offspring.