Immune components in human milk are associated with early infant immunological health outcomes: a prospective 3 country analysis
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The role of breastfeeding in improving allergy outcomes in early childhood is still unclear. Evidence suggests that immune mediators in human milk (HM) play a critical role in infant immune maturation as well as protection against atopy/allergy development. We investigated relationships between levels of immune mediators in colostrum and mature milk and infant outcomes in the first year of life. In a large prospective study of 398 pregnant/lactating women in the United Kingdom, Russia and Italy, colostrum and mature human milk (HM) samples were analysed for immune active molecules. Statistical analyses used models adjusting for the site of collection, colostrum collection time, parity and maternal atopic status. Preliminary univariate analysis showed detectable interleukin (IL) 2 and IL13 in HM to be associated with less eczema. This finding was further confirmed in multivariate analysis, with detectable HM IL13 showing protective effect OR 0.18 (95% CI 0.04–0.92). In contrast, a higher risk of eczema was associated with higher HM concentrations of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) 2 OR 1.04 (95% CI 1.01–1.06) per ng/mL. Parental-reported food allergy was reported less often when IL13 was detectable in colostrum OR 0.10 (95% CI 0.01–0.83). HM hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was protective for common cold incidence at 12 months OR 0.19 (95% CI 0.04–0.92) per ng/mL. Data from this study suggests that differences in the individual immune composition of HM may have an influence on early life infant health outcomes. Increased TGFβ2 levels in HM are associated with a higher incidence of reported eczema, with detectable IL13 in colostrum showing protective effects for food allergy and sensitization. HGF shows some protective effect on common cold incidence at one year of age. Future studies should be focused on maternal genotype, human milk microbiome and diet influence on human milk immune composition and both short- and long-term health outcomes in the infant.
Date Issued
2017-05-24
Date Acceptance
2017-05-19
Citation
Nutrients, 2017, 9 (6)
ISSN
2072-6643
Publisher
MDPI
Journal / Book Title
Nutrients
Volume
9
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sponsor
National Institute for Health Research
Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Grant Number
NF-SI-0509-10171
Nil
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Nutrition & Dietetics
colostrum
human milk
immune modulators
immunologically active molecules
cytokines
growth factors
health outcomes
immunological outcomes
HEPATOCYTE GROWTH-FACTOR
HUMAN BREAST-MILK
FACTOR-BETA
TGF-BETA
ATOPIC DISEASE
IGA PRODUCTION
ISAAC PHASE-3
SOLUBLE CD14
EARLY AGE
CYTOKINES
1111 Nutrition And Dietetics
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
532