Breast milk of women with IBD may affect infant microbiome composition, fecal calprotectin
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The proteomic profile of breast milk of women with inflammatory bowel disease may affect an infant’s microbiome development and fecal calprotectin, according to a presenter at the Congress of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization.
“Breast milk composition may influence offspring’s gut microbiome development and fecal calprotectin levels at different timepoints,” João Guedelha Sabino, PhD, assistant professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at KU Leuven in Belgium, told attendees.
Sabino and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study that included pregnant women with IBD, pregnant healthy controls and their offspring. Using the Olink inflammation panel, they assessed proteomics of 236 breast milk samples 2-weeks post-delivery, of which 174 were from healthy controls, 37 were from patients with Crohn’s disease and 25 were from patients with ulcerative colitis. Researchers also collected offspring stool samples through the first 3 years of life to analyze fecal calprotectin and gut microbiota composition; they used non-parametric tests to assess associations between specific proteins in breast milk, fecal calprotectin and gut microbiota composition.
Results showed women with IBD had lower thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) compared with healthy controls (P = .0017). Levels of TSLP in breast milk associated negatively with infant fecal calprotectin at 1 year and with relative abundance of Cronobacter at 1 month.
In addition, women with CD had lower levels of chemokine ligand 20 compared with both healthy controls and women with UC (P = .014). Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) also was lower in the breast milk of women with CD (P = .009), and researchers saw a negative correlation between MMP-1 and fecal calprotectin at 3 months and l year. Further, osteoprotegerin was higher in the breast milk of women with UC (P = .018) and positively associated with Streptococcus; however, it was negatively associated with Bacteroides and Parabacteroides among infants at 1 month.
“These findings suggest that breast milk composition may impact the offspring’s intestinal immune system maturation and microbiome development, and warrant further research,” Sabino concluded.
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Sabino JG, et al. Abstract OP02. Presented at: Congress of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization; February 16-19, 2022 (virtual meeting).
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