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The effect of breast-feeding on proliferation by infant lymphocytes in vitro
Insights
Breast milk enhances infant immune responses early in life, boosting lymphocyte proliferation. However, bottle-fed infants show greater immune cell responses later, from 3 to 9 months of age.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Infant immune system development is influenced by nutrition.
- Breast milk contains bioactive factors that may modulate immune responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of breast-feeding versus bottle-feeding on infant lymphocyte responsiveness.
- To compare the in vitro proliferative capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from breast-fed and bottle-fed infants across different ages.
Main Methods:
- Collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 15 breast-fed and 15 bottle-fed infants aged 6 days to 9 months.
- Utilized a hanging drop microculture system with serum-free medium.
- Stimulated cells with various agents including T and B cell mitogens, allogeneic lymphocytes, and tetanus toxoid antigen.
Main Results:
- Breast-fed infants showed significantly greater lymphocyte proliferation to phytohaemagglutinin and tetanus toxoid at 6 days and 6 weeks.
- No significant differences in B cell mitogen responses (pokeweed, Staphylococcus aureus) were observed at the earliest ages.
- From 3 to 9 months, bottle-fed infants exhibited significantly higher responses to all stimuli compared to breast-fed infants.
Conclusions:
- Breast milk may enhance early infant immune development through factors present in colostrum and milk.
- The feeding method significantly impacts the trajectory of lymphocyte responsiveness during infancy.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the specific mechanisms behind these observed differences.
Abstract:
The effect of breast-feeding on the development of lymphocyte responsiveness in infants has been studied. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 15 breast- and 15 bottle-fed infants were obtained sequentially between 6 days and 9 months of age. A number of agents were used to stimulate the cells in vitro and the resulting proliferative responses were compared between the two feeding groups. A hanging drop microculture system using serum-free medium, enabled spontaneous proliferation and proliferative responses to several stimuli (T and B cell mitogens, allogeneic lymphocytes, and antigen) to be studied at a range of cell concentrations and days of culture. Significant age-related differences were found between the responses of cells from the two feeding groups. Spontaneous proliferation and proliferative responses to the T cell mitogen phytohaemagglutinin and the antigen tetanus toxoid were significantly greater in the breast-fed group at the two earliest ages studied (6 days and 6 wk). Responses to mitogens which predominantly affect B cells, such as pokeweed mitogen and Staphylococcus aureus (Cowan), were similar in both feeding groups at this age. In contrast, from 3 to 9 months of age, responses of cells from bottle-fed infants were significantly greater to all stimuli than responses from breast-fed infants. One possible explanation for the higher level of proliferation by cells from newborn breast-fed infants, is that these infants may absorb the cell-growth factors and lymphokines known to be present in human colostrum and milk. These factors may stimulate T cells and/or their precursors in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)