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Formula feeding skews immune cell composition toward adaptive immunity compared to breastfeeding

Yvonne Andersson1, Marie-Louise Hammarström, Bo Lönnerdal

  • 1Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Umeå University, Umeå SE-901 87, Sweden.

Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
|September 8, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Infant feeding impacts immune cell development. Breastfeeding promotes steady immune cell composition, while formula feeding may delay innate immunity cell recruitment and enhance adaptive immunity cell maturation.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Pediatrics
  • Nutrition

Background:

  • The ontogeny of infant immune systems and the influence of feeding type remain incompletely understood.
  • Early life nutrition significantly shapes immune system development and function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze immune cell frequencies and composition in breastfed (BF) versus formula-fed (FF) infants.
  • To compare the effects of different infant formulas on immune cell development.

Main Methods:

  • Flow cytometry and immunoflow cytometry were used to analyze whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
  • Immune cell populations were assessed in exclusively BF infants and infants fed one of three different formulas at 1.5, 4, and 6 months of age.

Main Results:

  • Breastfed infants showed increased neutrophils and stable lymphocyte proportions (CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, NK cells, gammadelta T cells) from 1.5 to 6 months.
  • Formula-fed infants had a decreased proportion of NK cells but increased naive CD4+ T cells and an elevated CD4/CD8 ratio compared to breastfed infants.
  • No significant differences in immune cell composition were observed among the three formula groups.

Conclusions:

  • Infant feeding type significantly influences immune cell ontogeny.
  • Formula feeding is associated with delayed recruitment of innate immunity cells (NK cells) and accelerated maturation of adaptive immunity cells (naive CD4+ T cells) compared to breastfeeding.

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