Plasma gastrin-34 increases during and immediately after breast-feeding in 3-day-old infants.
We examined whether plasma gastrin concentration increases during breast-feeding in infants. The peptide concentration was measured cross-sectionally before, during, and after breast-feeding in healthy, 3-day-old infants (n = 72). Somatostatin, a modulator of gastrin release, was also analyzed. Both peptides were measured by radioimmunoassay and were further characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The (mean +/- SD) concentration of gastrin rose significantly from 63 +/- 24 pmol/L before feeding to 92 +/- 32 pmol/L (p less than 0.01) and 95 +/- 21 pmol/L (p less than 0.01), 5 and 10 min after the initiation of sucking, respectively. The gastrin concentration was 102 +/- 35 pmol/L (p less than 0.01) immediately after feeding. Plasma somatostatin concentration was unaffected by feeding. As assessed by HPLC, circulating gastrin before, during, and after feeding was found to correspond to gastrin-34, whereas circulating somatostatin was found to correspond to somatostatin-14. We conclude that in contrast to earlier studies, plasma gastrin concentration increases during and immediately after breast-feeding in infants.
Department of Pediatrics KS-S. Göran, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
G
G
Marchini
I
I
Redham
K
K
Uvnäs-Moberg
D001724:Birth Weight; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005755:Gastrins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000097:blood
D005755:Gastrins; D011498:Protein Precursors; C013706:big gastrin; D013004:Somatostatin