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08:12
Isolation of Leukocytes from Human Breast Milk for Use in an Antibody-dependent Cellular Phagocytosis Assay of HIV Targets
Published on: September 6, 2019
Long-chain n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in breast milk decrease the risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding
Eduardo Villamor1, Irene N Koulinska, Jeremy Furtado
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. evillamo@hsph.harvard.edu
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|September 8, 2007
Summary
Certain fatty acids in breast milk may lower the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission through breastfeeding. Higher concentrations of specific long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were linked to reduced HIV transmission and virus shedding.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Nutritional Science
- Virology
Background:
- Breastfeeding is a significant route for infant HIV transmission.
- Fatty acids (FAs) in breast milk possess immunomodulatory and potential antiviral properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between breast milk fatty acid composition and HIV mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) risk.
- To determine if fatty acids correlate with HIV shedding (cell-free virus [CFV] and cell-associated virus [CAV]) in breast milk.
Main Methods:
- A nested case-control study was conducted within a cohort of HIV-infected Tanzanian mothers and infants.
- 59 breastfeeding MTCT cases were matched with 59 non-transmitting controls.
- Breast milk samples were analyzed for fatty acid profiles, CFV, and CAV.
Main Results:
- Specific fatty acids, including 11c,14c-eicosadienoic acid, arachidonic acid, and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, were inversely associated with MTCT risk.
- Arachidonic acid and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid showed an inverse relationship with both CFV and CAV shedding.
- Lauric acid and pentadecanoic acid were linked to increased MTCT risk, while trans fatty acids correlated with higher viral shedding.
Conclusions:
- Elevated levels of long-chain n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in breast milk may offer protection against HIV MTCT.
- Fatty acid profiles in breast milk could be a modifiable factor influencing HIV transmission risk during breastfeeding.
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