Fig. 2

Caesarean section improved microbiota community structure, faecal metabolite levels and glycometabolic function in the offspring from mice with HIP. a C-section animal model and experimental design. b, c Blood glucose and serum insulin levels and AUCs during the OGTT, respectively. d Changes in blood glucose levels (% of initial) and AUCs during the ITT. e, f The amount of insulin secretion upon stimulation with 3.3 mmol/L (low) and 16.7 mmol/L (high) glucose and the GSI of islets isolated from pancreatic tissues of offspring of the mHF (HF and HF-CS) and offspring of the mNC (NC and NC-CS) groups, respectively. g, h Pdx-1 and MafA mRNA expression levels in pancreatic tissues of offspring of the mHF (HF and HF-CS) and offspring of the mNC (with or without CS) groups, respectively. Data are presented as the mean ± SD; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001. i PCoA of the four offspring groups on the first two principal coordinates was performed based on the Jaccard distance. Each point represents one mouse. Comparisons were performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test for significant differences; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001. j Identification of major ASVs contributing to the differences in the gut microbiota of offspring groups delineated by caesarean section application using LEfSe. k, l The volcano plots represent the differences in the levels of the faecal metabolites induced by Caesarean section in offspring of the mNC or mHF group. m Spearman’s correlation network of the offspring gut microbiota, faecal metabolites and glycometabolic profiles. The colour represents positive (red) or negative (blue) correlations. HF (n=10): offspring delivered by the mHF group; NC (n=10): offspring delivered by the mNC group; HF-CS (n=6): offspring born to mHF by C-section; NC-CS (n=10): offspring born to mNC by C-section