Correlation Analysis Between Amniotic Fluid Microbiota and Complex Congenital Heart Disease

Correlation Analysis Between Amniotic Fluid Microbiota and Complex Congenital Heart Disease | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Correlation Analysis Between Amniotic Fluid Microbiota and Complex Congenital Heart Disease Yuefeng Cao, Guofeng Xing, Qiang Wang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8741630/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background and aims Numerous studies have found that dysbiosis of the microbiota is associated with cardiovascular diseases in humans and shows certain links to congenital heart disease (CHD) in children. However, direct evidence regarding whether maternal gut microbiota is related to fetal heart development remains lacking. This study aims to collect amniotic fluid samples during cesarean sections from pregnant women, compare the differences in microbiota between fetuses with complex CHD and normal fetuses, and explore the role of maternal gut microbiota as an environmental pathogenic factor in complex CHD. Methods and results Amniotic fluid samples were collected from patients undergoing cesarean sections at a single center between November 2024 and October 2025. The study included 6 cases in the fetal complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) group and 9 cases in the fetal normal (NOR) group. Microbial 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on these samples. A total of 1,908,431 paired-end reads were obtained, which were assembled into 1,897,612 tags, corresponding to 4,057 ASVs/OTUs. No significant differences in microbial diversity were observed between the two groups. However, in the complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) group, the abundance of certain microbial taxa associated with diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and periodontal disease was significantly elevated. (p < 0.01). Conclusion No significant differences were observed in the microbial diversity of amniotic fluid between fetuses with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) and normal fetuses. However, the abundance of specific microbial taxa was significantly elevated in the CCHD group. Further research is needed to elucidate the impact of these microbial changes on fetal cardiac development. Congenital heart defects Amniotic Fluid Gut Microbiota Fetus Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8741630","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":604496953,"identity":"54e1cb39-b658-4c14-bcc1-40fcd7fdb63a","order_by":0,"name":"Yuefeng Cao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing Anzhen Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuefeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Cao","suffix":""},{"id":604496954,"identity":"0a268d4c-7ebc-4a5b-882a-da7a329bce46","order_by":1,"name":"Guofeng Xing","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing Anzhen Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guofeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Xing","suffix":""},{"id":604496955,"identity":"159feece-53ff-4321-b41d-2a407c18b19e","order_by":2,"name":"Qiang Wang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAx0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvbGxsd/KmyY7dsbiNTCx3P4sAHPmTR2A54DRGqRk0hLk+BtO8RvIJFArMMkcgwkJM4ckDaXfLzxBkONTTRhLTxvDAwMKu4YW85OK7ZgOJaW20BQC3uOQULCmWfJDLdzzCQYGw4ToYUhx+DAwbbD9Q03zxCrhSMtsbGx7TCzwQ0eYrUAA5mZ4Uwas2QP0C8JxPhFvr2x/TcDMCr52Q9vvPGhxoawFmRAfNQgaSFVxygYBaNgFIwMAACdAEBlN8pMcQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing Anzhen Hospital","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiang","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-30 13:25:46","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8741630/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8741630/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107412083,"identity":"2b774dda-ba3b-4425-9149-b45abad59c8a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-21 09:13:26","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":559504,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"CorrelationAnalysisBetweenAmnioticFluidMicrobiotaandComplexCongenitalHeartDiseaseBMC.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8741630/v1_covered_917cee24-ed53-43d3-8aa9-17add0227230.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Correlation Analysis Between Amniotic Fluid Microbiota and Complex Congenital Heart Disease","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Congenital heart defects, Amniotic Fluid, Gut Microbiota, Fetus","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8741630/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8741630/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground and aims\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumerous studies have found that dysbiosis of the microbiota is associated with cardiovascular diseases in humans and shows certain links to congenital heart disease (CHD) in children. However, direct evidence regarding whether maternal gut microbiota is related to fetal heart development remains lacking. This study aims to collect amniotic fluid samples during cesarean sections from pregnant women, compare the differences in microbiota between fetuses with complex CHD and normal fetuses, and explore the role of maternal gut microbiota as an environmental pathogenic factor in complex CHD.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods and results\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmniotic fluid samples were collected from patients undergoing cesarean sections at a single center between November 2024 and October 2025. The study included 6 cases in the fetal complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) group and 9 cases in the fetal normal (NOR) group. Microbial 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on these samples. A total of 1,908,431 paired-end reads were obtained, which were assembled into 1,897,612 tags, corresponding to 4,057 ASVs/OTUs. No significant differences in microbial diversity were observed between the two groups. However, in the complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) group, the abundance of certain microbial taxa associated with diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and periodontal disease was significantly elevated. (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo significant differences were observed in the microbial diversity of amniotic fluid between fetuses with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) and normal fetuses. However, the abundance of specific microbial taxa was significantly elevated in the CCHD group. Further research is needed to elucidate the impact of these microbial changes on fetal cardiac development.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Correlation Analysis Between Amniotic Fluid Microbiota and Complex Congenital Heart Disease","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-12 10:08:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8741630/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7f653b69-6a33-40b1-b539-41bd83eeb38b","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 12th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-21T09:12:02+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-12 10:08:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8741630","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8741630","identity":"rs-8741630","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}