title: High DMBT1 concentrations in breast milk correlate with increased risk of infection in preterm and term neonates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human milk contains immune molecules involved in the protection of newborns against infections. We analyzed the concentration of Deleted in Malignant Brain Tumors 1 (DMBT1), a protein with functions in innate immunity, in breast milk.
  
  
  METHODS
  DMBT1 was detected in breast milk by Western blotting and its concentration was quantified by ELISA in 95 breast milk samples collected from mothers of preterm and term neonates during the first four weeks after delivery. Possible effects of maternal or neonatal parameters were analyzed by different statistical tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean DMBT1 concentration (± standard error of the mean) in the tested milk samples was 2.48 ± 0.26 μg/mL (range: 0.112 μg/mL to 17.984 μg/mL) and represented 0.0087% of the total protein content. The comparison between the newborns with infection and the newborns without infection revealed significantly higher DMBT1 concentrations in breast milk in the group with infection (6.72 ± 2.53 μg/mL versus 2.20 ± 0.35 μg/mL (P = 0.031)). Neither maternal nor neonatal parameters showed a correlation with the milk DMBT1 levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DMBT1 is a component of breast milk after birth and is up-regulated in the breast milk from mothers with newborns suffering from neonatal infection. Thus, breast milk DMBT1 may be part of the innate immunity similar to secretory IgA.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 430, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ronellenfitsch
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weiß
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frommhold
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mollenhauer
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poeschl
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C108174:DMBT1 protein, human; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins