title: Is there any association between secretory IgA and lactoferrin concentration in mature human milk and food allergy in breastfed children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breastfeeding is recommended as a protective method against the development of allergy. However, some studies have reported an increased risk of allergies development in breastfed infants of atopic mothers, which implies that atopic mothers may have an altered composition of breast milk.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to determine the concentration of secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) and lactoferrin in human mature milk and to evaluate the association between the levels of these proteins in breast milk with food allergy in children, depending on the allergy status of the breastfeeding mother.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical data was collected from birth to 24 months of age from 84 mother-child pairs participating in an EU-funded project "EuroPrevall - The prevalence, cost and basis of food allergy across Europe". The diagnosis of food allergy in children was based on the positive result of a double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). S-IgA and lactoferrin levels were measured in the whey of mature breast milk with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Statistical analysis (the U Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests as well as the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient) was performed using STATISTICA 8.0 PL (Statsoft, Tulsa, USA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten out of eighty four participating children had positive skin prick tests (SPT) and/or sIgE to food antigens and in 7 (8.4%) DBPCFC confirmed food allergy. the median concentration of S-IgA was 476,83 μg/ml (range 6.51-1359.61 μg/ml). the median concentration of Lf was 15.68 μg/ml (range 11.68-36.43 μg/ml). The concentrations of S-IgA and Lf showed a moderate, negative, correlation R=-0.28; p=0.05.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mature breast milk of mothers of children with food allergy and of healthy children showed similar concentrations of both proteins. The level of S-IgA in the mature milk of mothers with atopic allergy was significantly lower, compared to non-atopic mothers. More studies are needed to reveal the mystery of the lack of protective effect of breastfeeding on allergy development in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hematology and Diabetology Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland. anna.hogendorf@gmail.com
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hogendorf
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stańczyk-Przyłuska
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sieniwicz-Luzeńczyk
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiszniewska
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arendarczyk
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banasik
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fendler
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zeman
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; D008894:Milk Proteins; D007781:Lactoferrin