scholarly journals The Gut‒Breast Axis: Programming Health for Life

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 606
Author(s):  
Juan M. Rodríguez ◽  
Leónides Fernández ◽  
Valerie Verhasselt

The gut is a pivotal organ in health and disease. The events that take place in the gut during early life contribute to the programming, shaping and tuning of distant organs, having lifelong consequences. In this context, the maternal gut plays a quintessence in programming the mammary gland to face the nutritional, microbiological, immunological, and neuroendocrine requirements of the growing infant. Subsequently, human colostrum and milk provides the infant with an impressive array of nutrients and bioactive components, including microbes, immune cells, and stem cells. Therefore, the axis linking the maternal gut, the breast, and the infant gut seems crucial for a correct infant growth and development. The aim of this article is not to perform a systematic review of the human milk components but to provide an insight of their extremely complex interactions, which render human milk a unique functional food and explain why this biological fluid still truly remains as a scientific enigma.

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3596
Author(s):  
Kelly S. Otsuka ◽  
Christopher Nielson ◽  
Matthew A. Firpo ◽  
Albert H. Park ◽  
Anna E. Beaudin

Emerging evidence indicates that perinatal infection and inflammation can influence the developing immune system and may ultimately affect long-term health and disease outcomes in offspring by perturbing tissue and immune homeostasis. We posit that perinatal inflammation influences immune outcomes in offspring by perturbing (1) the development and function of fetal-derived immune cells that regulate tissue development and homeostasis, and (2) the establishment and function of developing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that continually generate immune cells across the lifespan. To disentangle the complexities of these interlinked systems, we propose the cochlea as an ideal model tissue to investigate how perinatal infection affects immune, tissue, and stem cell development. The cochlea contains complex tissue architecture and a rich immune milieu that is established during early life. A wide range of congenital infections cause cochlea dysfunction and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), likely attributable to early life inflammation. Furthermore, we show that both immune cells and bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors can be simultaneously analyzed within neonatal cochlear samples. Future work investigating the pathogenesis of SNHL in the context of congenital infection will therefore provide critical information on how perinatal inflammation drives disease susceptibility in offspring.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 7818-7827
Author(s):  
Lina Zhang ◽  
Ying Ma ◽  
Zhenyu Yang ◽  
Shan Jiang ◽  
Jun Liu ◽  
...  

Human milk provides a range of nutrients and bioactive components, which can support the growth and development of infants.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathyayini P. Gopalakrishna ◽  
Timothy W. Hand

The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in maintaining health throughout life. The microbiota develops progressively after birth and is influenced by many factors, including the mode of delivery, antibiotics, and diet. Maternal milk is critically important to the development of the neonatal intestinal microbiota. Different bioactive components of milk, such as human milk oligosaccharides, lactoferrin, and secretory immunoglobulins, modify the composition of the neonatal microbiota. In this article, we review the role of each of these maternal milk-derived bioactive factors on the microbiota and how this modulation of intestinal bacteria shapes health, and disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 654-669
Author(s):  
Thea Magrone ◽  
Manrico Magrone ◽  
Emilio Jirillo

Mast cells (MCs) have recently been re-interpreted in the context of the immune scenario in the sense that their pro-allergic role is no longer exclusive. In fact, MCs even in steady state conditions maintain homeostatic functions, producing mediators and intensively cross-talking with other immune cells. Here, emphasis will be placed on the array of receptors expressed by MCs and the variety of cytokines they produce. Then, the bulk of data discussed will provide readers with a wealth of information on the dual ability of MCs not only to defend but also to offend the host. This double attitude of MCs relies on many variables, such as their subsets, tissues of residency and type of stimuli ranging from microbes to allergens and food antigens. Finally, the relationship between MCs with basophils and eosinophils will be discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii124-ii124
Author(s):  
Jan Remsik ◽  
Xinran Tong ◽  
Ugur Sener ◽  
Danille Isakov ◽  
Yudan Chi ◽  
...  

Abstract For decades, the central nervous system was considered to be an immune privileged organ with limited access to systemic immunity. However, the leptomeninges, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled anatomical structure that protects the brain and spinal cord, represent a relatively immune-rich environment. Despite the presence of immune cells, complications in the CSF, such as infectious meningitis and a neurological development of cancer known as leptomeningeal metastasis, are difficult to treat and are frequently fatal. We show that immune cells entering the CSF are held in an ‘idle’ state that limits their cytotoxic arsenal and antigen presentation machinery. To understand this underappreciated neuroanatomic niche, we used unique mouse models and rare patient samples to characterize its cellular composition and critical signaling events in health and disease at a single-cell resolution. Revealing the mediators of CSF immune response will allow us to re-evaluate current therapeutic protocols and employ rational combinations with immunotherapies, therefore turning the patient’s own immune system into an active weapon against pathogens and cancer.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (12) ◽  
pp. 1152-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeong Yeh Lee ◽  
Siti Asma Hassan ◽  
Intan Hakimah Ismail ◽  
Sze Yee Chong ◽  
Raja Affendi Raja Ali ◽  
...  

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1123
Author(s):  
Carole Ayoub Moubareck

Human milk represents a cornerstone for growth and development of infants, with extensive array of benefits. In addition to exceptionally nutritive and bioactive components, human milk encompasses a complex community of signature bacteria that helps establish infant gut microbiota, contributes to maturation of infant immune system, and competitively interferes with pathogens. Among bioactive constituents of milk, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are particularly significant. These are non-digestible carbohydrates forming the third largest solid component in human milk. Valuable effects of HMOs include shaping intestinal microbiota, imparting antimicrobial effects, developing intestinal barrier, and modulating immune response. Moreover, recent investigations suggest correlations between HMOs and milk microbiota, with complex links possibly existing with environmental factors, genetics, geographical location, and other factors. In this review, and from a physiological and health implications perspective, milk benefits for newborns and mothers are highlighted. From a microbiological perspective, a focused insight into milk microbiota, including origins, diversity, benefits, and effect of maternal diet is presented. From a metabolic perspective, biochemical, physiological, and genetic significance of HMOs, and their probable relations to milk microbiota, are addressed. Ongoing research into mechanistic processes through which the rich biological assets of milk promote development, shaping of microbiota, and immunity is tackled.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-770
Author(s):  
Jane Pitt

The apparent increase in frequency of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis1 and the recognition that the gastrointestinal tract is often the portal of entry in neonatal sepsis2 has renewed interest in breast milk as a source of newborn immunity. Attention has recently focussed on milk leukocytes. The purpose of this commentary is to summarize the available information on this subject and to examine the implications that this knowledge may have on the possible use of human milk-feeding to protect the newborn from infection. Human colostrum and early milk contain 1 to 2 x 106 leukocytes; 80% to 90% of these are monocytic phagocytes and the remainder are lymphocytes.3,4


Author(s):  
Fiona Lynch ◽  
Sharon Lewis ◽  
Ivan Macciocca ◽  
Jeffrey M. Craig

Abstract Epigenetics is likely to play a role in the mediation of the effects of genes and environment in risk for many non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory presents unique opportunities regarding the possibility of early life interventions to alter the epigenetic makeup of an individual, thereby modifying their risk for a variety of NCDs. While it is important to determine how we can lower the risk of these NCDs, it is equally important to understand how the public’s knowledge and opinion of DOHaD and epigenetic concepts may influence their willingness to undertake such interventions for themselves and their children. In this review, we provide an overview of epigenetics, DOHaD, NCDs, and the links between them. We explore the issues surrounding using epigenetics to identify those at increased risk of NCDs, including the concept of predictive testing of children. We also outline what is currently understood about the public’s understanding and opinion of epigenetics, DOHaD, and their relation to NCDs. In doing so, we demonstrate that it is essential that future research explores the public’s awareness and understanding of epigenetics and epigenetic concepts. This will provide much-needed information which will prepare health professionals for the introduction of epigenetic testing into future healthcare.


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