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The relationship between bioactive components in breast milk and bone mass in infants.

ABSTRACT: Human breast milk (HBM) contains numerous bioactive components, recently shown to be associated with growth and body composition in breastfed offspring. Reciprocity in adipogenic and osteogenic pathways suggests bone mass may also be influenced by these components. The association between bioactive components found in HBM and bone mineral content (BMC), to our knowledge, is unknown. The purpose of this proof-of-principle study was to evaluate the association between specific bioactive components in HBM in exclusively breastfed infants and skeletal health in the first 6 months of life and examine potential gender differences in these associations. Thirty-five mother-infant dyads were followed from 1 to 6 months. The contents of a single breast expression were used for analyses of bioactive components (insulin, glucose, leptin, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), whereas BMC was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In the total sample, there was a positive association between TNFα and BMC at 1 (P=0.004) and 6 months (P=0.007). When stratified by sex, females exhibited a positive association between BMC and glucose and an inverse relationship between BMC and TNF-α at 1 month with TNF-α strengthening (P=0.006) at 6 months. In males, at 6 months a positive relationship between BMC and HBM glucose and an inverse relationship with HBM leptin were observed with no associations observed at 1 month. Although preliminary, the associations between bioactive components in HBM highlight the importance HBM has on bone accretion. It is critically important to identify factors in HBM that contribute to optimal bone health.

SUBMITTER: Casazza K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4189256 | biostudies-other | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Background: Breast milk provides nutrition for infants but also delivers other bioactive factors that have key protective and developmental benefits. In particular, cytokines are thought to play a role in immunomodulation, although little is known about their impact on health outcomes in early life. Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the relationship between cytokines in breast milk and infant growth outcomes in a low-income setting. Methods: 100 mother-infant pairs were followed up to 2-3 months postpartum as part of a prospective longitudinal cohort study in urban Gambia, West Africa. The concentrations of 9 pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1?, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IFN-?, TNF?), IGF-1 and TGF?2 were measured in colostrum within 12 h of birth and in breast milk at the final visit, scheduled between day 60 and 89 postpartum. Infant weight was recorded and converted to weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ) at the same time points. Growth outcomes were defined in our study as (a) change in WAZ between birth and final visit (b) WAZ at final visit. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the ability of colostrum and breast milk cytokine concentrations to predict growth outcomes up to 2-3 months postpartum. Results: Gambian infants demonstrated growth faltering across the first 2-3 months postpartum. There was no significant relationship between cytokines in colostrum and subsequent change in WAZ between birth and the final visit, in either unadjusted or adjusted models. However, cytokines in mature breast milk, TNF?, IFN?, IL1?, IL2, IL4, and IL6, were weak negative predictors of WAZ scores at the final visit, in unadjusted models (p < 0.05). When adjusted for maternal anemia (as a proxy for maternal nutrition), TNF? and IL6 remained significant predictors (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Variations in breast milk cytokine levels do not play a substantial role in the growth faltering observed across early infancy. The potential contribution of other factors, such as micronutrients, hormones or human milk oligosaccharides, must be elucidated. Cytokine levels in mature breast milk were weakly predictive of poor infant growth, possibly reflecting a "read-out" of suboptimal maternal health and nutrition.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Numerous studies have shown that specific components of breast milk, considered separately, are associated with disease status in the mother or the child using univariate analyses. However, very few studies have considered multivariate analysis approaches to evaluate the relationship between multiple breast milk components simultaneously. AIM:Here we aimed at visualizing breast milk component complex interactions in the context of the allergy status of the mother or the child. METHODS:Milk samples were collected from lactating mothers participating in the Leipziger Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationskrankheiten (LIFE) Child cohort in Leipzig, Germany. A total of 156 breast milk samples, collected at 3 months after birth from mother/infant pairs, were analyzed for 51 breast milk components. Correlation, principal component analysis (PCA) and graphical discovery analysis were used. RESULT:Correlations ranging from 0.40 to 0.96 were observed between breast milk fatty acid and breast milk phospholipids levels and correlations ranging from 0 to 0.76 between specific human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) were observed. No separation of the data based on the risk of allergy in the infants was identified using PCA. When graphical discovery analysis was used, dependencies between maternal plasma immunoglobulin E (IgE) level and the breast milk immune marker transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-ß2), between TGF-ß2, breast milk immunoglobulin A (IgA) and TGF-ß1 as well as between breast milk total protein and birth weight were observed. Graphical discovery analysis also exemplifies a possible competition for the fucosyl group between 2'FL, LNFP-I and 3'FL in the HMO group. Additionally, dependencies between immune component IgA and specific HMO (6'SL and blood group A antigen tetraose type 5 or PI-HMO) were identified. CONCLUSION:Graphical discovery analysis applied to complex matrices such as breast milk composition can aid in understanding the complexity of interactions between breast milk components and possible relations to health parameters in the mother or the infant. This approach can lead to novel discoveries in the context of health and diseases such as allergy. Our study thus represents the first attempt to visualize the complexity and the inter-dependency of breast milk components.

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The relationship between bioactive components in breast milk and bone mass in infants.

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