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Caffé B, Blackwell A, Fehrenkamp BD, Williams JE, Pace RM, Lackey KA, Ruiz L, Rodríguez JM, McGuire MA, Foster JA, Sellen DW, Kamau-Mbuthia EW, Kamundia EW, Mbugua S, Moore SE, Prentice AM, Kvist LJ, Otoo GE, Pareja RG, Bode L, Gebeyehu D, Gindola DK, Boothman S, Flores K, McGuire MK, Meehan CL. Human milk immune factors, maternal nutritional status, and infant sex: The INSPIRE study. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23943. [PMID: 37358306 PMCID: PMC10749986 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Breastfeeding is an energetically costly and intense form of human parental investment, providing sole-source nutrition in early infancy and bioactive components, including immune factors. Given the energetic cost of lactation, milk factors may be subject to tradeoffs, and variation in concentrations have been explored utilizing the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. As human milk immune factors are critical to developing immune system and protect infants against pathogens, we tested whether concentrations of milk immune factors (IgA, IgM, IgG, EGF, TGFβ2, and IL-10) vary in response to infant sex and maternal condition (proxied by maternal diet diversity [DD] and body mass index [BMI]) as posited in the Trivers-Willard hypothesis and consider the application of the hypothesis to milk composition. METHODS We analyzed concentrations of immune factors in 358 milk samples collected from women residing in 10 international sites using linear mixed-effects models to test for an interaction between maternal condition, including population as a random effect and infant age and maternal age as fixed effects. RESULTS IgG concentrations were significantly lower in milk produced by women consuming diets with low diversity with male infants than those with female infants. No other significant associations were identified. CONCLUSIONS IgG concentrations were related to infant sex and maternal diet diversity, providing minimal support for the hypothesis. Given the lack of associations across other select immune factors, results suggest that the Trivers-Willard hypothesis may not be broadly applied to human milk immune factors as a measure of maternal investment, which are likely buffered against perturbations in maternal condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Caffé
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Aaron Blackwell
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Bethaney D Fehrenkamp
- Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
- Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho (WWAMI) Medical Education Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Janet E Williams
- Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Ryan M Pace
- Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Kimberly A Lackey
- Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Lorena Ruiz
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry of Dairy Products, Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA-CSIC), Villaviciosa, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Microhealth Group, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Juan M Rodríguez
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mark A McGuire
- Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - James A Foster
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Daniel W Sellen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Samwel Mbugua
- Department of Human Nutrition, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya
| | - Sophie E Moore
- Department of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, Gambia
| | - Andrew M Prentice
- MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, Gambia
| | | | - Gloria E Otoo
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | | | - Lars Bode
- Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Dubale Gebeyehu
- Department of Anthropology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Debela K Gindola
- Department of Anthropology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Sarah Boothman
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Katherine Flores
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Michelle K McGuire
- Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Courtney L Meehan
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
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Lane AA, McGuire MK, McGuire MA, Williams JE, Lackey KA, Hagen EH, Kaul A, Gindola D, Gebeyehu D, Flores KE, Foster JA, Sellen DW, Kamau-Mbuthia EW, Kamundia EW, Mbugua S, Moore SE, Prentice AM, Kvist LJ, Otoo GE, Rodríguez JM, Ruiz L, Pareja RG, Bode L, Price WJ, Meehan CL. Household composition and the infant fecal microbiome: The INSPIRE study. Am J Phys Anthropol 2019; 169:526-539. [PMID: 31012086 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Establishment and development of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome (GIM) varies cross-culturally and is thought to be influenced by factors such as gestational age, birth mode, diet, and antibiotic exposure. However, there is little data as to how the composition of infants' households may play a role, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. Here, we examined relationships between infant fecal microbiome (IFM) diversity/composition and infants' household size, number of siblings, and number of other household members. MATERIALS AND METHODS We analyzed 377 fecal samples from healthy, breastfeeding infants across 11 sites in eight different countries (Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Spain, Sweden, and the United States). Fecal microbial community structure was determined by amplifying, sequencing, and classifying (to the genus level) the V1-V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Surveys administered to infants' mothers identified household members and composition. RESULTS Our results indicated that household composition (represented by the number of cohabitating siblings and other household members) did not have a measurable impact on the bacterial diversity, evenness, or richness of the IFM. However, we observed that variation in household composition categories did correspond to differential relative abundances of specific taxa, namely: Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Enterobacter, and Klebsiella. DISCUSSION This study, to our knowledge, is the largest cross-cultural study to date examining the association between household composition and the IFM. Our results indicate that the social environment of infants (represented here by the proxy of household composition) may influence the bacterial composition of the infant GIM, although the mechanism is unknown. A higher number and diversity of cohabitants and potential caregivers may facilitate social transmission of beneficial bacteria to the infant gastrointestinal tract, by way of shared environment or through direct physical and social contact between the maternal-infant dyad and other household members. These findings contribute to the discussion concerning ways by which infants are influenced by their social environments and add further dimensionality to the ongoing exploration of social transmission of gut microbiota and the "old friends" hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avery A Lane
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
| | - Michelle K McGuire
- School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - Mark A McGuire
- Department of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - Janet E Williams
- Department of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - Kimberly A Lackey
- School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - Edward H Hagen
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
| | - Abhishek Kaul
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
| | - Debela Gindola
- Department of Anthropology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Dubale Gebeyehu
- Department of Anthropology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Katherine E Flores
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
| | - James A Foster
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - Daniel W Sellen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Samwel Mbugua
- Department of Human Nutrition, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya
| | - Sophie E Moore
- Department of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, The Gambia
| | - Andrew M Prentice
- MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Banjul, The Gambia.,MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Gloria E Otoo
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Juan M Rodríguez
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lorena Ruiz
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry of Dairy Products, Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Villaviciosa, Spain
| | | | - Lars Bode
- Department of Pediatrics, and Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (MOMI CORE), University of California, San Diego, California
| | - William J Price
- Statistical Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
| | - Courtney L Meehan
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
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