Interesting article. I wonder if there are specific foods that increase
interleukin 7 (IL-7) or if it has to do with nutritional status? I wonder if
women who were not breastfed or breastfed shorter periods secrete less of
interleukin 7 (IL-7) in their milk? DOes anybody out there know? Thanks for
sharing, Chris
www.ajcn.org
Improved thymic function in exclusively breastfed infants is associated with
higher interleukin 7 concentrations in their mothers' breast milk.
Ngom PT, Collinson AC, Pido-Lopez J, Henson SM, Prentice AM, Aspinall R.
Department of Immunology, Imperial College London, Chelsea & Westminster
Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH, UK.
BACKGROUND: In rural Gambians, the season of birth strongly predicts adult
mortality. Those born during the harvest season have longer life spans than do
those born during the hungry season, and the deaths associated with infectious
diseases suggest permanent early-life influences on immunity. Thymic
measurements showed significantly smaller thymuses in infants born during the hungry
season than in those born during the harvest season. The differences were
greatest at 8 wk of age, a time when all infants were exclusively breastfed, which
suggests the involvement of breast milk factors. OBJECTIVE: This study tested
whether thymic size differences reflect thymic output and ascertained whether
thymic output is associated with breast milk interleukin 7 (IL-7)
concentrations. DESIGN: We studied thymic size and output in a prospective cohort of 138
Gambian infants born in either the hungry or the harvest season by measuring
signal-joint T cell receptor-rearrangement excision circles (sjTRECs) at birth
and at 8 wk of age. IL-7 concentrations in breast milk were measured by using an
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: By age 8 wk, those born in the
hungry season had significantly lower sjTREC counts than did those born in the
harvest season (0.97 and 2.12 sjTRECs/100 T cells, respectively; P = 0.006). At
1 wk postpartum, the breast milk of mothers of infants born in the hungry
season had significantly lower IL-7 than did that of mothers of infants born in
the harvest season (79 and 100 pg/mL, respectively; P = 0.02). The findings
were similar at 8 wk postpartum. CONCLUSION: These data show a plausible pathway
linking external seasonal insults to mothers with thymic development in their
infants, which suggests possible implications for long-term programming of
immunity.
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