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Valerie Verhasselt MD, PhD Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding 0402997617 Valerie.verhasselt@thekids.org.au Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding @
Dynamic molecular changes in early life follow a robust ontogeny as the infant immune system adapts to the demands of its new environment. Studies of plasma immunomodulatory cytokines and chemokines have previously demonstrated ontogenetic patterns of immune development across the first week of life. However, how plasma cytokine and chemokines concentrations evolve over the first 4 months of life remains unknown.
Food allergy affects families' quality of life, can be lifelong and life-threatening, urging the identification of early modifiable risk factors. Formula feeding in the first days of life may increase the risk of cow's milk allergy, a risk often attributed to cow's milk allergens exposure. Early formula feeding also reduces the colostrum intake, the first 3 days' milk, which is rich in bioactive compounds critical for immune and gut health. This study investigates whether partial colostrum feeding increases the risk of food allergy beyond cow's milk.
Previous reports suggested that food proteins present in human milk (HM) may trigger symptoms in allergic children during breastfeeding, but existing evidence has never been reviewed systematically.
Valerie Verhasselt MD, PhD Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding 0402997617 Valerie.verhasselt@thekids.org.au Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding @
Maheshwar Bhasin, PhD Student, Centre for Immunology and breastfeeding
Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding
First-of-its-kind findings show that newborns exclusively fed colostrum in their first 72 hours of life were five times less likely to develop a peanut allergy by 12-18 months, and 11 times less likely to develop multiple food allergies (such as egg or cow’s milk) compared with infants who also received formula
Previous research has shown that immune development during the first week of life, i.e. ontogeny, is progressive, consistent and robust, involving large numbers of differentially expressed genes at each sampled time point.
Human milk is a rich source of immunomodulatory factors that influence the development of the infant immune system, including susceptibility to allergic diseases. Among these components, milk antibodies have been extensively studied for their role in protecting against infections; however, their potential contribution to allergy prevention may be equally important. The mechanisms of protection include allergen exclusion, enhanced and targeted antigen presentation, immune modulation via shaping of the infant gut microbiome, and direct regulation of gut immune responses.