Feeding a Mixture of Choline Forms during Lactation Improves Offspring Growth and Maternal Lymphocyte Response to Ex Vivo Immune Challenges

Abstract

Study objectives were to examine the impact of feeding a mixture of choline forms, or a diet high in glycerophosphocholine (GPC) on maternal immune function and offspring growth during lactation. Lactating Sprague-Dawley rat dams (n = 6/diet) were randomized to one of three diets, providing 1 g/kg total choline: Control (100% free choline (FC)), Mixed Choline (MC; 50% phosphatidylcholine (PC), 25% FC, 25% GPC), or High GPC (HGPC; 75% GPC, 12.5% PC, 12.5% FC). At 3 weeks, cell phenotypes and cytokine production with Concanavalin A (ConA)-or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated splenocytes and mesenteric lymphocytes were measured. Feeding MC or HGPC diets improved pups’ growth compared to Control (+22% body weight, p < 0.05). In spleen, MC-and HGPC-fed dams had higher proportions of cytotoxic (CD8+) T cells expressing CD27, CD71 and CD127, total B cells (CD45RA+) and dendritic cells (OX6+OX62+), and produced less IL-6 and IFN-γ after ConA than Control-fed dams (p < 0.05). MC and HGPC LPS-stimulated splenocytes produced less IL-1β and IL-6 than Control. ConA-stimulated mesenteric lymphocytes from MC and HGPC dams produced more IL-2 and IFN-γ than Control (p < 0.05). In summary, feeding a mixture of choline forms during lactation improved offspring growth and resulted in a more efficient maternal immune response following mitogenic immune challenge.

Choline

“…Emerging evidence has highlighted a role for maternal choline supplementation in promoting placental health (22)(23)(24)(25) and in reducing placental production of corticotropinreleasing hormone via epigenetic mechanisms (3). In addition to choline's role during pregnancy, emerging research demonstrates that higher choline intakes during lactation improve breast milk choline content (26,27) and that the form of choline in the maternal diet influences the development of the offspring's immune system (28,29).…”

2-Deoxy-D-glucose Alleviates Collagen-Induced Arthritis of Rats and Is Accompanied by Metabolic Regulation of the Spleen and Liver

“…FSC/SSC gating was used to identify lymphocytes, and the CD3 and CD8/CD4/CD45RA/CD161 bivariate analysis identified the CD8+ T, CD4+ T, CD3-CD45RA+ B, CD3-CD161+ NK (bright), CD3-CD161+ NK (dim). CD3-CD45RA+ is often used to identify B cells in rats, and CD3-CD161+ is used to identify natural killer cells (31)(32)(33).…”

Plant- and Animal-Derived Dietary Sources of Phosphatidylcholine Have Differential Effects on Immune Function in The Context of A High-Fat Diet in Male Wistar Rats

“…We have also shown that feeding 100% soy-PC in a maternal diet in Sprague-Dawley rats increased IL-2 production in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) but not splenocytes [ 21 ]. Further, our laboratory showed that feeding a mixture of choline forms in the maternal diet composed of 50% soy-PC had no effect on IL-2 production but did lead to an overall more efficient Th1 immune response [ 22 ]. Altogether, this suggests that there may be a differential effect on immune function between egg- and soy-derived PC.…”