Colostrum and Mature Human Milk of Women from London, Moscow, and Verona: Determinants of Immune Composition.
Cytokines and growth factors in colostrum and mature milk may play an important role in infant immune maturation, and may vary significantly between populations. We aimed to examine associations between environmental and maternal factors, and human milk (HM) cytokine and growth factor levels. We recruited 398 pregnant/lactating women in the United Kingdom, Russia, and Italy. Participants underwent skin prick testing, questionnaire interview, and colostrum and mature milk sampling. HM cytokine and growth factor levels were quantified by electro-chemiluminescence. We found significant geographical variation in growth factor levels, but no evidence of variation between sites in cytokine detectability. There was an inverse correlation between time of milk sampling and growth factor levels in colostrum for Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) and TGFβ1 and TGFβ3, but not TGFβ2, and levels were significantly higher in colostrum than mature milk for all growth factors. The kinetics of decline were different for each growth factor. Cytokines were present at much lower levels than growth factors, and the decline over time was less consistent. HM growth factors and cytokine levels vary between populations for unknown reasons. Levels of HM mediators decline at different rates postpartum, and these findings suggest specific biological roles for HM growth factors and cytokines in early postnatal development.
Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. daniel.munblit08@imperial.ac.uk.|International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. daniel.munblit08@imperial.ac.uk.|Faculty of Pediatrics, I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow 119991, Russia. daniel.munblit08@imperial.ac.uk.
Daniel
D
Munblit
International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. trenevamarina@mail.ru.|Allergy Department, Veltischev Clinical Pediatric Research Institute of Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow 125412, Russia. trenevamarina@mail.ru.
Marina
M
Treneva
International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. diego.peroni@unipi.it.|Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Paediatrics, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy. diego.peroni@unipi.it.
Diego G
DG
Peroni
National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW3 6NP, UK. s.colicino@imperial.ac.uk.
Silvia
S
Colicino
Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. lychow8@gmail.com.
LiYan
L
Chow
Royal Holloway University of London School of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, London TW20 0EX, UK. shobanadis@hotmail.com.
Shobana
S
Dissanayeke
Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. p.abrol@doctors.org.uk.
Priya
P
Abrol
Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. shreya.sheth10@imperial.ac.uk.
Shreya
S
Sheth
International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. apampura1@mail.ru.|Allergy Department, Veltischev Clinical Pediatric Research Institute of Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow 125412, Russia. apampura1@mail.ru.
Alexander
A
Pampura
Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Section of Paediatrics, University of Verona, 37124 Verona, Italy. attilio.boner@univr.it.
Attilio L
AL
Boner
International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. donna.geddes@uwa.edu.au.|School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, WA, Australia. donna.geddes@uwa.edu.au.
Donna T
DT
Geddes
Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. r.boyle@nhs.net.|International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. r.boyle@nhs.net.
Robert J
RJ
Boyle
Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. j.o.warner@imperial.ac.uk.|International Inflammation (in-FLAME) Network of the World Universities Network, Sydney 2006, NSW, Australia. j.o.warner@imperial.ac.uk.
John O
JO
Warner
D000328:Adult; D003126:Colostrum / Q000378:metabolism*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007558:Italy; D007700:Kinetics; D007774:Lactation; D008131:London; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000378:metabolism*; D009031:Moscow; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism; D053781:Transforming Growth Factor beta2 / Q000378:metabolism; D053782:Transforming Growth Factor beta3 / Q000378:metabolism
D016207:Cytokines; C066855:HGF protein, human; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; C509041:TGFB2 protein, human; C509044:TGFB3 protein, human; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D053781:Transforming Growth Factor beta2; D053782:Transforming Growth Factor beta3; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor
colostrum; cytokines; environmental influence; growth factors; human milk; immune modulators; immunologically active molecules