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Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition... May 2022Preterm birth is one of the most pressing clinical problems in obstetrics and neonatology worldwide. One of the most sophisticated components of human milk is the... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Preterm birth is one of the most pressing clinical problems in obstetrics and neonatology worldwide. One of the most sophisticated components of human milk is the proteome and a better understanding of it can lead to precision guides for feeding preterm infants. In this review, we will examine recent research focused on the human milk proteome and individualized protein fortification of human milk.
RECENT FINDINGS
In both preterm and term birth, the protein content in mother's own milk dropped rapidly in the early postnatal period. Preterm milk had a higher protein content and contained different protein and endogenous peptide compositions compared with term milk. The peptides in gastrointestinal fluids of preterm infants still need further investigation. Individualized fortification is more superior to standard fortification, but it only focuses on the total protein amount. There is no data concerning the composition and posttranslational modifications of proteins and endogenous peptides with fortification and their longterm effects.
SUMMARY
Comprehensive identification and characterization of the human milk proteome have led to the targeted breast milk fortification theory of preterm infant feeding and has also been enriched by clinical trials. However, to achieve fortification of key proteins and/or endogenous peptides, as standard clinical practice, requires additional studies. Future research should explore the long-term effect of protein fortification and pay more attention to quality rather than quantity in relation to infant body composition and growth outcomes.
Topics: Female; Food, Fortified; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Milk, Human; Premature Birth; Proteome
PubMed: 35199659
DOI: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000824 -
Nutrients Aug 2019Human milk is the most complete and ideal form of nutrition for the developing infant. The composition of human milk consistently changes throughout lactation to meet... (Review)
Review
Human milk is the most complete and ideal form of nutrition for the developing infant. The composition of human milk consistently changes throughout lactation to meet the changing functional needs of the infant. The human milk proteome is an essential milk component consisting of proteins, including enzymes/proteases, glycoproteins, and endogenous peptides. These compounds may contribute to the healthy development in a synergistic way by affecting growth, maturation of the immune system, from innate to adaptive immunity, and the gut. A comprehensive overview of the human milk proteome, covering all of its components, is lacking, even though numerous analyses of human milk proteins have been reported. Such data could substantially aid in our understanding of the functionality of each constituent of the proteome. This review will highlight each of the aforementioned components of human milk and emphasize the functionality of the proteome throughout lactation, including nutrient delivery and enhanced bioavailability of nutrients for growth, cognitive development, immune defense, and gut maturation.
Topics: Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lactation; Milk, Human; Proteome
PubMed: 31398857
DOI: 10.3390/nu11081834 -
Neuropharmacology Dec 2021The breastfeeding period is one of the most important critical windows in our development, since milk, our first food after birth, contains several compounds, such as... (Review)
Review
The breastfeeding period is one of the most important critical windows in our development, since milk, our first food after birth, contains several compounds, such as macronutrients, micronutrients, antibodies, growth factors and hormones that benefit human health. Indeed, nutritional, and environmental alterations during lactation, change the composition of breast milk and induce alterations in the child's development, such as obesity, leading to the metabolic dysfunctions, cardiovascular diseases and neurobehavioral disorders. This review is based on experimental animal models, most of them in rodents, and summarizes the impact of an adequate breast milk supply in view of the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) concept, which has been proposed by researchers in the areas of epidemiology and basic science from around the world. Here, experimental advances in understanding the programming during breastfeeding were compiled with the purpose of generating knowledge about the genesis of chronic noncommunicable diseases and to guide the development of public policies to deal with and prevent the problems arising from this phenomenon. This review article is part of the special issue on "Cross talk between periphery and brain".
Topics: Adolescent; Animals; Breast Feeding; Child; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Chronic Disease; Health Status; Humans; Infant; Infant Formula; Infant, Newborn; Milk; Milk, Human; Noncommunicable Diseases
PubMed: 34610290
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108821 -
The Journal of Maternal-fetal &... Dec 2022
Topics: Humans; Animals; Milk, Human; Lactoferrin; COVID-19; Milk
PubMed: 34353215
DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2021.1960971 -
Seminars in Perinatology Mar 2021Human milk is a living dynamic fluid that promotes optimal nutrition and development of the infant and impacts health across the lifespan. This review reports on the... (Review)
Review
Human milk is a living dynamic fluid that promotes optimal nutrition and development of the infant and impacts health across the lifespan. This review reports on the diverse range of nutrients, immune protection factors, hormones, microbes and metabolites in human milk and their impacts on infant nutrition and health. While many of these components are stable across lactation and similar between women, some vary over time, and in response to maternal and infant health status, maternal diet and geographic location. Human milk may be considered as personalized nutrition, with many components working synergistically to stimulate and support the infant's immature immune system, while enhancing appropriate development, growth and body composition.
Topics: Breast Feeding; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Lactation; Milk, Human
PubMed: 33431112
DOI: 10.1016/j.semperi.2020.151380 -
Nutrients May 2024One of the most important bioactive components of breast milk are free breast milk oligosaccharides, which are a source of energy for commensal intestinal... (Review)
Review
One of the most important bioactive components of breast milk are free breast milk oligosaccharides, which are a source of energy for commensal intestinal microorganisms, stimulating the growth of , , and in a child's digestive tract. There is some evidence that maternal, perinatal, and environmental-cultural factors influence the modulation of the breast milk microbiome. This review summarizes research that has examined the composition of the breast milk microbiome and the factors that may influence it. The manuscript highlights the potential importance of the breast milk microbiome for the future development and health of children. The origin of bacteria in breast milk is thought to include the mother's digestive tract (entero-mammary tract), bacterial exposure to the breast during breastfeeding, and the retrograde flow of breast milk from the infant's mouth to the woman's milk ducts. Unfortunately, despite increasingly more precise methods for assessing microorganisms in human milk, the topic of the human milk microbiome is still quite limited and requires scientific research that takes into account various conditions.
Topics: Milk, Human; Humans; Female; Microbiota; Breast Feeding; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Gastrointestinal Microbiome
PubMed: 38794658
DOI: 10.3390/nu16101420 -
Microbiology Spectrum Jun 2023Multiple millennia of human evolution have shaped the chemical composition of breast milk toward an optimal human body fluid for nutrition and protection and for shaping...
Multiple millennia of human evolution have shaped the chemical composition of breast milk toward an optimal human body fluid for nutrition and protection and for shaping the early gut microbiota of newborns. This biological fluid is composed of water, lipids, simple and complex carbohydrates, proteins, immunoglobulins, and hormones. Potential interactions between hormones present in mother's milk and the microbial community of the newborn are a very fascinating yet unexplored topic. In this context, insulin, in addition to being one of the most prevalent hormones in breast milk, is also involved in a metabolic disease that affects many pregnant women, i.e., gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Analysis of 3,620 publicly available metagenomic data sets revealed that the bifidobacterial community varies in relation to the different concentrations of this hormone in breast milk of healthy and diabetic mothers. Starting from this assumption, in this study, we explored possible molecular interactions between this hormone and bifidobacterial strains that represent bifidobacterial species commonly occurring in the infant gut using 'omics' approaches. Our findings revealed that insulin modulates the bifidobacterial community by apparently improving the persistence of the Bifidobacterium bifidum taxon in the infant gut environment compared to other typical infant-associated bifidobacterial species. Breast milk is a key factor in modulating the infant's intestinal microbiota composition. Even though the interaction between human milk sugars and bifidobacteria has been extensively studied, there are other bioactive compounds in human milk that may influence the gut microbiota, such as hormones. In this article, the molecular interaction of the human milk hormone insulin and the bifidobacterial communities colonizing the human gut in the early stages of life has been explored. This molecular cross talk was assessed using an gut microbiota model and then analyzed by various omics approaches, allowing the identification of genes associated with bacterial cell adaptation/colonization in the human intestine. Our findings provide insights into the manner by which assembly of the early gut microbiota may be regulated by host factors such as hormones carried by human milk.
Topics: Infant; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Female; Pregnancy; Milk, Human; Bifidobacterium; Insulin; Microbiota; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Feces
PubMed: 37191543
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00665-23 -
Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition... May 2020Human milk contains a variety of bioactive proteins, and some of the bioactivities are exerted only after proteins are digested in the gastrointestinal tract. This... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Human milk contains a variety of bioactive proteins, and some of the bioactivities are exerted only after proteins are digested in the gastrointestinal tract. This review aims to overview recent studies on bioactive peptides in human milk and gastric digesta of breast-fed infants.
RECENT FINDINGS
Milk protein-derived peptides are endogenously present in human milk, and some of them have been reported to be bioactive peptides, such as a homologue of caseinophosphopeptide, an antimicrobial peptide, and an immunomodulatory peptide. A larger number of peptides are identified in gastric aspirates from breast-fed infants, and bioactive peptides such as angiotensin I-converting enzyme-inhibitory peptides, an antioxidative peptide, opioid agonist peptides are only found in the digesta of human milk but not in human milk per se. Casein is the greatest source of released bioactive peptides.
SUMMARY
Technological advances have considerably increased our capability to identify and characterize peptides derived from human milk proteins. However, their physiological significance and the roles of these bioactive peptides in growth and development of breast-fed infants have not yet been sufficiently elucidated, and further in-vivo experiments and clinical trials are warranted.
Topics: Humans; Milk Proteins; Milk, Human; Peptides
PubMed: 32068546
DOI: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000642 -
American Journal of Human Biology : the... Jan 2021Human biological variation in the phenotype is the cornerstone of modern human biology, evolutionary anthropology, and related studies of human evolution. Minimal... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
Human biological variation in the phenotype is the cornerstone of modern human biology, evolutionary anthropology, and related studies of human evolution. Minimal dialogue, however, has considered human milk to be part of this phenotypic variation. This may reflect researcher bias-mental models oriented around commercial infant formula and homogenized cow's milk, both of which present milk composition as static. A general lack of research outside primarily Western, well-nourished populations has also contributed to this underestimation of biological variation.
METHODS
This review analyzes published research on breast milk composition, developmental metabolic programming, and maternal body composition to articulate the ways in which population-based studies of human milk outside the United Sates are necessary to better understanding biological variation in human milk phenotypes.
RESULTS
This review discusses some of the common issues in current research on the biological variation in human milk composition and argues that anthropological inquiries that frame milk as part of an adaptive phenotype are necessary to better understand the biological significance of human milk composition in the production of human biological variation.
CONCLUSIONS
Biological anthropology is uniquely positioned to investigate biological variation in human milk, using evolutionary theory, cutting edge biology, and anthropologically informed perspectives that challenge the biomedical framing of lactation and often act to privilege well nourished, primarily western populations and formula feeding as normatives for infant feeding research.
Topics: Biological Variation, Individual; Body Composition; Breast Feeding; Female; Humans; Milk, Human
PubMed: 33432701
DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23564 -
Nature Computational Science Dec 2022
Topics: Milk, Human; Milk Banks; Peer Review
PubMed: 38177390
DOI: 10.1038/s43588-022-00388-w