Functional Proteins in Breast Milk and Their Correlation with the Development of the Infant Gut Microbiota: a Study of Mother-infant Pairs

Overview

Journal Front Microbiol

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2023 Sep 29

PMID 37771701

Authors

Menglu Xi

Dong Liang

Yalu Yan

Sufang Duan

Houxi Leng

Haibing Yang

Xiaojin Shi

Xiaona Na

Yucheng Yang

Celi Yang

Ignatius Man-Yau Szeto

Ai Zhao

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Proteins in breast milk play an important role in the growth and development of infants. This study aims to explore the correlation between functional proteins in breast milk and the infant gut microbiota.

Methods: Twenty-three mothers and their infants were enrolled and breast milk samples and infant fecal samples were collected. Breast milk protein content was determined by UPLC-MS/MS, and 16S rRNA sequencing was employed to analyze the gut microbiota of infant.

Results: The results indicated that the secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) content in breast milk was positively correlated with the abundance of . The κ-casein content was positively correlated with the abundance of . The osteopontin (OPN) and lactalbumin contents were positively correlated with the abundance of at 42 days. Functional pathway analysis showed that the OPN and κ-casein contents in breast milk were significantly correlated with amino acid, pyruvate, propionic acid, linoleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid metabolic pathways in early life.

Discussion: The results of this study suggest that specific proteins in breast milk can influence the abundance of certain gut microbes in infants, playing an important role in early immune and metabolic development.

Citing Articles

Milk Bioactive Compounds and Gut Microbiota Modulation: The Role of Whey Proteins and Milk Oligosaccharides.

Gallo V, Arienzo A, Tomassetti F, Antonini G Foods. 2024; 13(6).

PMID: 38540897 PMC: 10969594. DOI: 10.3390/foods13060907.

References

Duarte Villas Mishima M, Martino H, Kolba N, Shah D, Grancieri M, Santos K . Effects of Intra-Amniotic Administration of the Hydrolyzed Protein of Chia ( L.) and on Intestinal Functionality, Morphology, and Bacterial Populations, In Vivo (). Nutrients. 2023; 15(8). PMC: 10144735. DOI: 10.3390/nu15081831. View

Shi X, Wu H, Liu Y, Huang H, Liu L, Yang Y . Inhibiting vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation mediated by osteopontin regulating gut microbial lipopolysaccharide: A novel mechanism for paeonol in atherosclerosis treatment. Front Pharmacol. 2022; 13:936677. PMC: 9403310. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.936677. View

Manoppo J, Nurkolis F, Gunawan W, Limen G, Rompies R, Heroanto J . Functional sterol improves breast milk quality by modulating the gut microbiota: A proposed opinion for breastfeeding mothers. Front Nutr. 2022; 9:1018153. PMC: 9678907. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1018153. View

Cheng G, Chen A, Xin Y, Ni Q . Using the teach-back method to improve postpartum maternal-infant health among women with limited maternal health literacy: a randomized controlled study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023; 23(1):13. PMC: 9827634. DOI: 10.1186/s12884-022-05302-w. View

Chen Q, Zhang J, Ke X, Lai S, Li D, Yang J . Simultaneous quantification of α-lactalbumin and β-casein in human milk using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry based on their signature peptides and winged isotope internal standards. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2016; 1864(9):1122-1127. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2016.06.006. View

Kim D, Yoo J, Cho Y, Yoon H, Kim C . Calcium Solubilization Ability and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Hydrolyzed Casein. Food Sci Anim Resour. 2021; 41(4):687-700. PMC: 8277184. DOI: 10.5851/kosfa.2021.e29. View

West C, Kvistgaard A, Peerson J, Donovan S, Peng Y, Lonnerdal B . Effects of osteopontin-enriched formula on lymphocyte subsets in the first 6 months of life: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatr Res. 2017; 82(1):63-71. DOI: 10.1038/pr.2017.77. View

Donald K, Petersen C, Turvey S, Finlay B, Azad M . Secretory IgA: Linking microbes, maternal health, and infant health through human milk. Cell Host Microbe. 2022; 30(5):650-659. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2022.02.005. View

Maruri-Lopez I, Jimenez-Bremont J . Hetero- and homodimerization of Arabidopsis thaliana arginine decarboxylase AtADC1 and AtADC2. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2017; 484(3):508-513. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.01.083. View

10.

Vital M, Howe A, Tiedje J . Revealing the bacterial butyrate synthesis pathways by analyzing (meta)genomic data. mBio. 2014; 5(2):e00889. PMC: 3994512. DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00889-14. View

11.

Zhang J, Zhao A, Lai S, Yuan Q, Jia X, Wang P . Longitudinal Changes in the Concentration of Major Human Milk Proteins in the First Six Months of Lactation and Their Effects on Infant Growth. Nutrients. 2021; 13(5). PMC: 8147063. DOI: 10.3390/nu13051476. View

12.

Xi M, Na X, Ma X, Lan H, Sun T, Liu W . Maternal diet associated with infants' intestinal microbiota mediated by predominant long-chain fatty acid in breast milk. Front Microbiol. 2023; 13:1004175. PMC: 9852834. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1004175. View

13.

Lyons K, Ryan C, Dempsey E, Ross R, Stanton C . Breast Milk, a Source of Beneficial Microbes and Associated Benefits for Infant Health. Nutrients. 2020; 12(4). PMC: 7231147. DOI: 10.3390/nu12041039. View

14.

Pabst O, Izcue A . Secretory IgA: controlling the gut microbiota. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19(3):149-150. DOI: 10.1038/s41575-021-00563-w. View

15.

Andreas N, Kampmann B, Mehring Le-Doare K . Human breast milk: A review on its composition and bioactivity. Early Hum Dev. 2015; 91(11):629-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2015.08.013. View

16.

Fang J, Yang Y, Xie W . Chinese expert consensus on the application of live combined Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Enterococcus powder/capsule in digestive system diseases (2021). J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023; 38(7):1089-1098. DOI: 10.1111/jgh.16195. View

17.

Ge Y, Li F, He Y, Cao Y, Guo W, Hu G . L-arginine stimulates the proliferation of mouse mammary epithelial cells and the development of mammary gland in pubertal mice by activating the GPRC6A/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2022; 106(6):1383-1395. DOI: 10.1111/jpn.13730. View

18.

Romero-Espinoza J, Moreno-Valencia Y, Coronel-Tellez R, Castillejos-Lopez M, Hernandez A, Dominguez A . Virome and bacteriome characterization of children with pneumonia and asthma in Mexico City during winter seasons 2014 and 2015. PLoS One. 2018; 13(2):e0192878. PMC: 5813968. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192878. View

19.

Stoeva M, Garcia-So J, Justice N, Myers J, Tyagi S, Nemchek M . Butyrate-producing human gut symbiont, , and its role in health and disease. Gut Microbes. 2021; 13(1):1-28. PMC: 8078720. DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1907272. View

20.

Brooks C, Wight M, Azeez O, Bleich R, Zwetsloot K . Growing old together: What we know about the influence of diet and exercise on the aging host's gut microbiome. Front Sports Act Living. 2023; 5:1168731. PMC: 10149677. DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1168731. View