Breast Milk-Derived Biomolecules in Human Health

Dear Colleagues,

The multiplicity of benefits of breastfeeding have now been established. In addition to being the best source of nutrition for infants, breast milk confers important and lasting infant and maternal health benefits. A richer understanding of the health impact of the many biomolecules present in breast milk should have far reaching societal benefits. Maternal biomolecules establish a fascinating mother-to-child signaling through breastfeeding. Breast milk antibodies, cytokines, and other immune molecules ensure disease immunity, protect the developing intestinal barrier from inflammation, and reduce the risk of chronic inflammatory diseases. The hormones, cytokines, lipids, vitamins, and oligosaccharides in breast milk control organ differentiation, thermogenesis, cognitive development, and the growth of normal flora. Insufficient breastfeeding promotes childhood obesity and increases the risk of inflammatory diseases and diabetes in later life [1–8]. However, the rate of breastfeeding has declined dramatically, with a possible negative impact on infant and adolescent health [4,9]. Understanding the health impact of both breast and formula milk biomolecules is hence timely and important. The topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, studies on the biomolecules of the milk microbiome; the impact of milk biomolecules on the gut–brain–immune axis; obesogens in breast milk; neurotransmitters, hormones, and cytokines in breast milk; extracellular vesicles and cells in breast milk; the impact of maternal health on milk quality; clinical studies dealing with the health impacts of formula-feeding and breastfeeding. Original research articles, technical notes, case reports, short reviews, and commentaries are welcome. As the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I hope that the collection of articles will be useful references for teaching and research to stimulate discussion and to open up new avenues of research, and will be situated within the existing literature as a reference point.

References:

1. Stewart, C.J.; Ajami, N.J.; O’Brien, J.L.; Hutchinson, D.S.; Smith, D.P.; Wong, M.C.; Ross, M.C.; Lloyd, R.E.; Doddapaneni, H.; Metcalf, G.A.; et al. Temporal development of the gut microbiome in early childhood from the TEDDY study. Nature 2018, 562, 583–588.
2. Yu, H.; Dilbaz, S.; Coßmann, J.; Hoang, A.C.; Diedrich, V.; Herwig, A.; Harauma, A.; Hoshi, Y.; Moriguchi, T.; Landgraf, K.; et al. Breast milk alkylglycerols sustain beige adipocytes through adipose tissue macrophages. J. Clin. Investig. 2019, 129, 2485–2499.
3. Liang, G.; Zhao, C.; Zhang, H.; Mattei, L.; Sherrill-Mix, S.; Bittinger, K.; Kessler, L.R.; Wu, G.D.; Baldassano, R.N.; DeRusso, P.; et al. The stepwise assembly of the neonatal virome is modulated by breastfeeding. Nature 2020, 581, 470–474.
4. Pietrobelli, A.; Agosti, M.; the MeNu Group. Nutrition in the First 1000 Days: Ten Practices to Minimize Obesity Emerging from Published Science. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1491.
5. Melnik, B.C.; John, S.M.; Schmitz, G.; Milk is not just food but most likely a genetic transfection system activating mTORC1 signaling for postnatal growth. Nutr. J. 2013, 12, 103.
6. Savino, F.; Fissore, M.F.; Liguori, S.A.; Oggero, R. Can hormones contained in mothers' milk account for the beneficial effect of breast-feeding on obesity in children? Clin. Endocrinol. 2009, 71, 757–765.
7. Sodhi, C.P.; Wipf, P.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Fulton, W.B.; Kovler, M.; Niño, D.F.; Zhou, Q.; Banfield, E.; Werts, A.D.; Ladd, M.R.; et al. The human milk oligosaccharides 2’-fucosyllactose and 6’-sialyllactose protect against the development of necrotizing enterocolitis by inhibiting toll-like receptor 4 signaling. Pediatric Res. 2020.
8. Bardanzellu, F.; Fanos, V.; Reali, A. "Omics" in Human Colostrum and Mature Milk: Looking to Old Data with New Eyes. Nutrients 2017, 9, 843.
9. Grummer‐Strawn, L.M.; Zehner, E.; Stahlhofer, M.; Lutter, C.; Clark, D.; Sterken, E.; Harutyunyan, S.; Ransom, E.I.; WHO/UNICEF NetCode. New World Health Organization guidance helps protect breastfeeding as a human right. Matern. Child Nutr. 2017, 13, e12491.

Dr. Tamás Röszer
Guest Editor

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• metabolism
• immunology
• nutrition
• endocrinology
• breastfeeding
• neonate care