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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