Project description:Sparse data exist regarding the normal range of composition of maternal milk beyond the first postnatal weeks. This single timepoint, observational study in collaboration with the 'Parenting Science Gang' citizen science group evaluated the metabolite and bacterial composition of human milk from 62 participants (infants aged 3-48 months), nearly 3 years longer than previous studies. We utilised rapid evaporative ionisation mass spectrometry (REIMS) for metabolic fingerprinting and 16S rRNA gene metataxonomics for microbiome composition analysis. Milk expression volumes were significantly lower beyond 24 months of lactation, but there were no corresponding changes in bacterial load, composition, or whole-scale metabolomic fingerprint. Some individual metabolite features (~14%) showed altered abundances in nursling age groups above 24 months. Neither milk expression method nor nursling sex affected metabolite and metataxonomic fingerprints. Self-reported lifestyle factors, including diet and physical traits, had minimal impact on metabolite and metataxonomic fingerprints. Our findings suggest remarkable consistency in human milk composition over natural-term lactation. The results add to previous studies suggesting that milk donation can continue up to 24 months postnatally. Future longitudinal studies will confirm the inter-individual and temporal nature of compositional variations and the use of donor milk as a personalised therapeutic.
Project description:PFAS are widely used in commercial products, and so humans have consistent exposure to them via oil- and water-resistant consumer products, fire- fighting foam, and industrial surfactants 1,2. The four PFASs commonly detected in blood, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) 3,4, are present in drinking water supplies both in northern New England as well as in 27 states nationally 5-8. Animal models shows that PFASs have can have effects on both the endocrine system and on adiposity 9-12. Epidemiological evidence shows that the presence of PFASs in maternal serum is associated with changes in maternal serum lipid and cholesterol composition 13,14. Similarly, serum levels of PFAS in adolescents have been associated with increases in serum cholesterol 15. These findings raise interesting questions about the association of PFAS and lipids in human milk. Research has shown the PFASs are present in human milk 16-18, and human milk is composed primarily of lipids 19. However, the relation between PFAS in milk and milk composition is unclear. The chemical and compositional profiles of breast milk are important because of the potential effects on the developing infant. The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis suggests that early life exposures, such as toxins and nutrients via breast milk, have lasting effects on health, particularly obesity outcomes 20. In fact, some studies have shown associations between PFAS in maternal serum and infant birth weight and later childhood BMI 14,21. Our study will help to better illuminate the potential effects of maternal exposure to PFASs on infant exposure, both through direct transmission into breast milk and indirectly via influence on the lipid profiles of milk. To investigate how early life exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may affect childhood health outcomes as mediated through breast milk, we propose the following specific aims: 1. Characterize the levels of PFAS in breast milk samples (n=495) in the NHBCS; 2. Characterize the lipid profiles of breast milk samples (n=495) in the NHBCS; 3. Test the relation between PFAS concentration and breast milk lipid profiles; and 4. Test the association between PFAS concentrations in maternal plasma collected during pregnancy with paired breast milk samples (n=100).
Project description:Human milk is the truest form of personalized nutrition, supporting dynamic needs of the infant with important nutritional and bioactive constituents that change throughout lactation. Additionally, human milk is individual specific and is unique for each mother-infant dyad. Proteins and endogenous peptides are 2 key classes of major human milk components making up the proteome, each with unique and synergistic functionality, working to provide protection for the healthy development of infants. Our objective was to comprehensively characterize and quantify the human milk proteome for varying early life challenges. We assessed in-depth individual variations of the human milk proteome across lactation, by mass spectrometry. Finding that the human milk proteome showed continuous and gradual changes over lactation, and that inflammatory events correlated with a strong and rapid change in the composition of human milk proteins and peptides. Personalized human milk profiling resulted in the systematic annotation of the milk proteome, and elucidated how early onset inflammatory events can lead to infant immune training from human milk.
Project description:Very little is known about miRNAs found in breastmilk cells, which also reflect the cells of the lactating mammary epithelium. Our hypothesis is that breastmilk cells are richer in miRNA compared to other milk fractions, such as skim milk. Further, the effects of milk removal by the infant on milk cell miRNA content and/or composition have not been investigated. Breastmilk cells conserved higher miRNA content than previously published lipid and skim fractions of breastmilk as well as other known sources of miRNA in humans. Specifically, 1,467 known mature miRNAs were identified and a further 1996 novel miRNAs, of which 89 were highly expressed. As previously shown, post-feed milk contained more cells than pre-feed milk, and the same was observed for miRNA content. However, no statistically significant difference was found in the expression of the total known and novel miRNAs between pre- and post-feed milk (p=0.76), although 27 known miRNAs and 1 novel miRNA were higher expressed in post-feed milk. As expected, samples richer in viable cells contained more known miRNAs (p = 0.01). Functional analysis of the top 10 most highly expressed known miRNAs showed that they may be potentially involved in crucial roles for the infant, including body fluid balance, thirst, appetite, immune responses, and development. In conclusion, breastmilk is highly rich in miRNA which may play important functions in the breastfed infant and the lactating breast. Milk removal by the infant can influence the total miRNA content of breastmilk, similar to its cell and fat content, but the miRNA composition remains constant
Project description:To investigate the molecular bases of diet induced differences in milk composition, we collected milk from mid lactation dairy ewes and after 3 weeks of diet supplementation with extruded linseed. RNAs were isolated from milk somatic cells isolated from milk of 3 sheep and Illumina RNA sequencing was performed to analyze RNA synthesis in these cells.
Project description:To further explore the underlying mechanisms of the protection functions of human milk exosmes, high throughput sequencings were used to identify differentially expressed lncRNA and mRNA profiles between human milk exosomes form term human breast milk (Term-Exos) and preterm human breast milk (Pre-Exos).