Guiding Development of the Neonate: Lessons from Mammalia
Insights
Preterm and low-birthweight (LBW) infants need better nutrition. Studying tammar wallaby milk reveals signaling molecules that could improve lung and gut development in vulnerable newborns.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Comparative physiology
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Preterm and low-birthweight (LBW) infants exhibit underdeveloped lungs and guts, leading to poor growth, high mortality, and increased disease risk.
- Current feeding options like formula or donor milk may not fully support recovery.
- Novel nutritional strategies are needed to optimize early neonatal development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify potential signaling molecules in milk that promote organ development in neonates.
- To leverage insights from marsupial milk composition to inform human infant nutrition.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of gene expression datasets from tammar wallaby mammary glands during early lactation.
- Comparison with human databases of placenta, amniotic fluid, colostrum, and milk.
- Identification of homologous secreted proteins with potential signaling functions.
Main Results:
- Identification of differentially expressed genes coding for secreted proteins in tammar wallaby milk.
- Discovery of potential human homologues for signaling molecules crucial for organ development.
- Establishment of a basis for developing targeted milk fortifiers.
Conclusions:
- The tammar wallaby model provides valuable insights into milk-borne bioactive signals for neonatal organogenesis.
- Identified signaling molecules can inform the development of advanced milk fortifiers for preterm and LBW infants.
- This research has the potential to improve outcomes for vulnerable newborns globally.
Abstract:
Significantly preterm and low-birthweight (LBW) babies have diminished lung and gut development, generally fail to thrive, have increased mortality and higher frequency of mature-onset disease. Mothers often cannot breastfeed, and babies receive either formula or pasteurized donor milk, which may further limit the baby's recovery. New approaches are required to manage the early stages of neonatal development. The tammar wallaby, an Australian marsupial, has a short gestation and a simple placenta, and gives birth to an altricial young equivalent to a final trimester human embryo. The neonate remains in the pouch and attached to the teat for 100 days postpartum. The mother slows growth of the young and progressively changes the composition of the milk to deliver signals for organ development, including the lung and gut. This closely resembles the relationship between the human fetus and delivery of placental and uterine bioactives. Datasets comprised of differentially expressed genes coding for secreted proteins in early lactation in the tammar mammary gland have been compared to databases produced from human placenta, amniotic fluid, colostrum and milk to identify human homologues for the putative signaling molecules for organ development. These data will be used to develop milk fortifiers for treatment of preterm and LBW babies in both the developed and the developing world.
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