Longitudinal Study of Cytokine Expression, Lipid Profile and Neuronal Growth Factors in Human Breast Milk from Term and Preterm Deliveries
Breast milk (BM) is considered as a reference for infant nutrition. The role of bioactive components, such as cytokines, hormones, growth factors (GFs) and fatty acids (FAs) is poorly known, but they might be implicated in immune response development. The aim of this study was to identify the lipid profile and the spectrum of cytokines and neuronal GF in BM samples and analyse the influence of gestational age and lactation time on these components. This study used a longitudinal prospective method for the characterization of cytokines, FAs and GFs global profiles in 120 BM samples from 40 healthy mothers (20 preterm and 20 term) collected as colostrum, transitional and mature milk. The cyto…
Impact of lactation stage, gestational age and mode of delivery on breast milk microbiota.
There is an increasing evidence of the immunological role of breast milk (BM) microbiota on infant health. This study aims to analyze several determining factors of milk microbiota. A total of 96 milk samples from 32 healthy mothers (19 preterm vs 13 at term gestations; and 15 vaginal deliveries vs 17 Cesarean sections) were longitudinally collected. Microbiota composition was studied by quantitative PCR and the influence of lactation stage, gestational age and delivery mode was evaluated. Globally, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus and Enterococcus spp. were the predominant bacterial groups. Total bacteria, Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus spp. counts increased throughout the lactation period. …