Does the immune system of milk increase activity for infants experiencing infectious disease episodes in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania?

Wander, Katherine; Fujita, Masako; Mattison, Siobhán M.; Gauck, Megan; Duris, Margaret; Kiwelu, Ireen; Mmbaga, Blandina T.

doi:10.1002/ajhb.23897

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…However, neither dimension of proinflammatory immune activity we assessed was associated with infant age, sex, or low birthweight. Further, we have found that these ISOM capacities do not appear to change with infant ID episodes (Wander et al, 2023). Similarly, infant reproductive value-captured in birthweight or Z-scores-was unassociated with beneficial ISOM inflammatory capacities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Maternal and infant predictors of proinflammatory milk immune activity in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Wander,

Fujita,

Mattison

et al. 2024

American J Hum Biol

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ObjectivesThe immune system of milk (ISOM) creates a mother–infant immune axis that plays an important role in protecting infants against infectious disease (ID). Tradeoffs in the immune system suggest the potential for both protection and harm, so we conceive of two dimensions via which the ISOM impacts infants: promotion of protective activity and control of activity directed at benign targets. High variability in ISOM activity across mother–infant dyads suggests investment the ISOM may have evolved to be sensitive to maternal and/or infant characteristics. We assessed predictors of appropriate and misdirected proinflammatory ISOM activity in an environment of high ID risk, testing predictions drawn from life history theory and other evolutionary perspectives.MethodsWe characterized milk in vitro interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) responses to Salmonella enterica (a target of protective immune activity; N = 96) and Escherichia coli (a benign target; N = 85) among mother–infant dyads in rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We used ordered logistic regression and mixture models to evaluate maternal and infant characteristics as predictors of IL‐6 responses.ResultsIn all models, IL‐6 responses to S. enterica increased with maternal age and decreased with gravidity. In mixture models, IL‐6 responses to E. coli declined with maternal age and increased with gravidity. No other considered variables were consistently associated with IL‐6 responses.ConclusionsThe ISOM's capacities for appropriate proinflammatory activity and control of misdirected proinflammatory activity increases with maternal age and decreases with gravidity. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the mother–infant immune axis has evolved to respond to maternal life history characteristics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Maternal and infant predictors of proinflammatory milk immune activity in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Wander,

Fujita,

Mattison

et al. 2024

American J Hum Biol

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“…Concentrations were corrected for dilution at the time of assay and, for stimulated specimens, for dilution at the time of stimulation. Specimens with undetectably low concentrations of cytokine were assigned a global low value derived from the highest lower limit of detection across all plates (as discussed in Wander et al, 2021 and Wander et al, 2023). Ratios of stimulated to baseline cytokine were calculated to characterize milk immune response to each bacterial stimulus (Wander et al, 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…How to cite this article: Anyim, R., Li, S., Armstrong, D., Spathis, R., & Wander, K. (2023). Associations between milk cortisol and activity of the immune system of milk.…”

Section: Conflict Of Interest Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between milk cortisol and activity of the immune system of milk

Anyim

Armstrong

et al. 2023

American J Hum Biol

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ObjectivesBoth the immune system of human milk and milk cortisol have complex short‐ and long‐term effects on child health and development. As understanding continues to grow of the independent effects of each of these components of milk, it is also important to investigate their intersection, including how milk cortisol affects the immune system of milk. We began this important endeavor through secondary analyses of archived milk specimens.MethodsParticipants were 31 lactating mothers from upstate New York. We estimated milk cortisol concentrations via enzyme immunoassay. We assessed milk proinflammatory cytokine (interleukin‐6, IL‐6) responses to pathogenic (Salmonella) and commensal (Escherichia, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) bacteria via in vitro stimulation. We estimated ordered logistic regression models to assess associations between milk cortisol and IL‐6 responses to bacteria.ResultsMilk cortisol ranged from 0.098 to 1.007 μg/dL. Milk cortisol was positively associated with IL‐6 responses to S. enterica (B: 4.035; 95% CI: 0.674, 7.395) and B. breve (B: 3.675; 95% CI: 0.426, 6.924); this association persisted after controlling for child age. Results were less clear for associations between milk cortisol and IL‐6 responses to L. acidophilus (B: 2.318; 95% CI: −1.224, 5.859) and E. coli (B: 2.366; 95% CI: −0.960, 5.692).ConclusionsComplex interactions between cortisol and the immune system extend to milk. Milk cortisol was positively associated with proinflammatory responses to some bacteria in vitro. This may suggest that milk cortisol is causally upstream of protective immune activity.

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Does the immune system of milk increase activity for infants experiencing infectious disease episodes in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania?

Cited by 2 publications

References 28 publications

Maternal and infant predictors of proinflammatory milk immune activity in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Maternal and infant predictors of proinflammatory milk immune activity in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Associations between milk cortisol and activity of the immune system of milk

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