scholarly journals Is infant immunization by breastfeeding possible?

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1671) ◽  
pp. 20140139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Verhasselt
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Breast Milk ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Maternal Milk ◽  
Immune Priming ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Microbial Antigen ◽  
Stimulate Antigen

Breastfeeding is known as the most efficient way to prevent infectious disease in early life. Maternal anti-microbial immunoglobulins transfer through milk confers passive immunity to the breastfed child while his immune system is maturing. Maternal milk also contains bioactive factors that will stimulate this maturation. From the literature on breastfeeding prevention of immune-mediated disease and more specifically from our experiments conducted in the field of allergic disease prevention, we propose that breastfeeding may also induce antigen-specific immune responses in the breastfed child. We found that early oral antigen exposure through breast milk leads to tolerance or immune priming depending on the nature of the antigen transferred and accompanying maternal milk cofactors. Here, we will discuss our data in the light of prevention of infectious disease and will propose that possible milk transfer of microbial antigen could affect actively the immune response in breastfed children and thereby their long-term susceptibility to infectious disease. Further research in this direction may lead to novel strategies of early life vaccination, taking advantage of the possibility to stimulate antigen-specific immune responses through breast milk.

Formula Supplementation of the Breastfed Infant: Assault on the Gut Microbiome

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 128-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsha Walker
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Microbial Colonization ◽  
Mucosal Inflammation ◽  
Maternal Milk ◽  
Allergic Disorders

Although formula supplementation is well known to have detrimental effects on the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding, on the maternal milk production, and on the health outcomes of mothers and infants, there are immediate and long-lasting effects on the infant’s gut microbiome. Breast milk is an important element modulating the metabolic and immunological programming relative to a child’s health. An unfavorable or abnormal microbial colonization during early life interferes with many functions in the gut and facilitates invasion of pathogens and foreign or harmful antigens. Alterations of the gut environment (such as from supplementation with formula) are directly responsible for mucosal inflammation and disease, autoimmunity conditions, and allergic disorders in childhood and adulthood. Clinicians and parents will benefit from knowledge of this side effect of formula supplementation.

scholarly journals Consumption of Breast Milk Is Associated with Decreased Prevalence of Autism in Fragile X Syndrome

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1785
Author(s):  
Cara J. Westmark
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
Fragile X Syndrome ◽  
Study Design ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Research Database ◽  
Retrospective Survey ◽  
Fold Reduction

Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits, but early life nutrition has not been specifically studied in the neurodevelopmental disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS). Herein, I evaluate associations between the consumption of breast milk during infancy and the prevalence of autism, allergies, diabetes, gastrointestinal (GI) problems and seizures in FXS. The study design was a retrospective survey of families enrolled in the Fragile X Online Registry and Accessible Research Database (FORWARD). There was a 1.7-fold reduction in the prevalence of autism in FXS participants who were fed breast milk for 12 months or longer. There were strong negative correlations between increased time the infant was fed breast milk and the prevalence of autism and seizures and moderate negative correlations with the prevalence of GI problems and allergies. However, participants reporting GI problems or allergies commenced these comorbidities significantly earlier than those not fed breast milk. Parsing the data by sex indicated that males exclusively fed breast milk exhibited decreased prevalence of GI problems and allergies. These data suggest that long-term or exclusive use of breast milk is associated with reduced prevalence of key comorbidities in FXS, although breast milk is associated with the earlier development of GI problems and allergies.

Donor Breast Milk for the Preterm Infant: Your Questions Answered!

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Merlino-Barr ◽  
Sharon Groh-Wargo
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Breast Milk ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Very Low Birth Weight ◽  
Infant Nutrition ◽  
Nutritional Management ◽  
Maternal Milk ◽  
Vlbw Infants ◽  
Expressed Breast Milk

Expressed breast milk (EBM) is the gold standard of infant nutrition, but is not always available for use for preterm infants in the NICU setting. Donor breast milk (DBM) is often a preferred alternative for preterm and very low birth weight (VLBW) infants when maternal milk is not available. This article discusses the composition of DBM, reviews its advantages compared to formula, discusses challenges related to its long-term use, and identifies strategies to utilize DBM in the context of total nutritional management of preterm and VLBW infants. We will use a framework of WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY to answer the questions: who gets DBM, why use DBM, where does DBM come from, what is in DBM, and when may DBM use be challenged.

scholarly journals Life course exposures continually shape antibody profile and risk of seroconversion to influenza

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingyi Yang ◽  
Justin Lessler ◽  
Huachen Zhu ◽  
Chao Qiang Jiang ◽  
Jonathan M. Read ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Antibody Titer ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Hemagglutination Inhibition ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Quantitative Description ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Human Immunity ◽  
The Life Course

AbstractComplex exposure histories and immune mediated interactions between influenza strains contribute to the life course of human immunity to influenza. Antibody profiles can be generated by characterizing immune responses to multiple antigenically variant strains, but how these profiles vary across individuals and determine future responses is unclear. We used hemagglutination inhibition titers from 21 H3N2 strains to construct 777 paired antibody profiles from people aged 2 to 86, and developed novel metrics to capture features of these profiles. Total antibody titer per potential influenza exposure increases in early life, then decreases in middle age. Increased titers to one or more strains were seen in 97.8% of participants, suggesting widespread influenza exposure. While titer changes were seen to all strains, recently circulating strains exhibited the greatest variation. Higher pre-existing, homologous titers reduced the risk of seroconversion to recent strains. After adjusting for homologous titer, we also found an increased frequency of seroconversion among those with higher immunity to older previously exposed strains. Our results suggest that a comprehensive quantitative description of immunity encompassing past exposures could lead to improved correlates of risk of influenza.

The Embodiment of War: Growth, Development, and Armed Conflict

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 423-442
Author(s):  
Patrick F. Clarkin
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Biological Perspective ◽  
Growth Development

Armed conflict regularly presents extremely adverse circumstances not only for combatants, but also for civilians. In fact, estimates from various wars over the past 70 years suggest that noncombatants comprise the majority of casualties. For survivors, war's effects are often embodied, leaving long-term effects on health and biology. Some of these effects, such as injuries and psychological trauma, are well known. Yet other effects may be subtle and may be elucidated by a developmental biological perspective. In early life, when growth rates are highest, conditions of war may have their greatest impact. Depending on local circumstances, a developing embryo, infant, or child growing in a place embroiled in armed conflict is likely to face—directly or indirectly—various stressors, including malnutrition, infectious disease, and/or psychological stress. Thus, the conditions of war and forced displacement may become embodied, getting under the skin for fundamental biological reasons.

scholarly journals Modelling the effect of birth and feeding modes on the development of human gut microbiota

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1942) ◽  
pp. 20201810
Author(s):  
Xiyan Xiong ◽  
Sara L. Loo ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Mark M. Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Feeding Practices ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Human Gut Microbiota ◽  
Feeding Modes ◽  
Birth Environment

The human gut microbiota is transmitted from mother to infant through vaginal birth and breastfeeding. Bifidobacterium , a genus that dominates the infants’ gut, is adapted to breast milk in its ability to metabolize human milk oligosaccharides; it is regarded as a mutualist owing to its involvement in the development of the immune system. The composition of microbiota, including the abundance of Bifidobacteria, is highly variable between individuals and some microbial profiles are associated with diseases. However, whether and how birth and feeding practices contribute to such variation remains unclear. To understand how early events affect the establishment of microbiota, we develop a mathematical model of two types of Bifidobacteria and a generic compartment of commensal competitors. We show how early events affect competition between mutualists and commensals and microbe-host-immune interactions to cause long-term alterations in gut microbial profiles. Bifidobacteria associated with breast milk can trigger immune responses with lasting effects on the microbial community structure. Our model shows that, in response to a change in birth environment, competition alone can produce two distinct microbial profiles post-weaning. Adding immune regulation to our competition model allows for variations in microbial profiles in response to different feeding practices. This analysis highlights the importance of microbe–microbe and microbe–host interactions in shaping the gut populations following different birth and feeding modes.

scholarly journals Consumption of Breast Milk Is Associated With Decreased Prevalence of Autism in Fragile X Syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 930-930
Author(s):  
Cara Westmark
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
Fragile X Syndrome ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Research Database ◽  
Retrospective Survey ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Fold Reduction

Abstract Objectives Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits in infants, but early life nutrition has not been specifically studied in the neurodevelopmental disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS). Herein, we evaluate associations between the consumption of breast milk during infancy and the prevalence of autism, allergies, diabetes, gastrointestinal (GI) problems and seizures in participants with FXS. Methods The study design was a retrospective survey of families enrolled in the Fragile X Online Registry and Accessible Research Database (FORWARD). Results There was a 73% rate of breastfeeding in the enrolled participants with an 81% rate for at least 3 months, 73% for 6 months and 41% for 12 months of age or longer. There was a 1.7-fold reduction in the prevalence of autism in participants with FXS who were fed breast milk for 12 months or longer and a 1.9-fold decrease in autism in participants reporting no use of any infant formula (P < 0.05). The most common reasons for cessation of breastfeeding were reduced milk production and age of the child. There were strong negative correlations between increased time the infant with FXS was fed breast milk and the prevalence of autism and seizures and moderate negative correlations with the prevalence of GI problems and allergies. However, participants reporting GI problems or allergies commenced these comorbidities significantly earlier than participants that were not fed breast milk. Parsing the data by sex indicated that males exclusively fed breast milk exhibited decreased prevalence of GI problems and allergies. Conclusions These data suggest that long-term or exclusive use of breast milk is associated with reduced prevalence of key comorbidities in FXS including autism, GI problems and allergies, although breast milk is associated with the earlier development of GI problems and allergies. Funding Sources NICHD.

Sex differences in the early life correlates of natural antibody concentrations

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 501-511
Author(s):  
A. C. Palmer ◽  
K. J. Schulze ◽  
S. K. Khatry ◽  
L. M. De Luca ◽  
K. P. West
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Season Of Birth ◽  
Immune Development ◽  
Fetal Stem Cells ◽  
Unique Protein ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Nutritional Influences ◽  
Extensive Information ◽  
Rural Nepal

Innate-like B1a lymphocytes arise from long-lived progenitors produced exclusively by fetal stem cells. Any insults coinciding with this early lymphopoietic wave could have a permanent impact on the B1a population and its unique protein products, the natural antibodies (NAb). We investigated early life nutritional influences on NAb concentrations of pre-adolescent children (n=290) in rural Nepal for whom we had extensive information on exposures from pregnancy and early infancy. Infant size and growth were strongly associated with NAb concentrations at 9–13 years of age among males (e.g., for neonatal weight: βBOYS=0.43; P<0.001), but not females (e.g., for neonatal weight: βGIRLS=−0.16; P=0.26). In females, season of birth was associated with NAb concentrations, with marked reductions among girls born during the pre-monsoon (March–May; βGIRLS=−0.39; P=0.01) and pre-harvest (September–November; βGIRLS=−0.35; P=0.03) seasons. Our findings suggest that nutritional or other environmental influences on immune development may vary by sex, with potential consequences for immune function during infancy and long-term risk of immune-mediated disease.

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