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Rationale: Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) vary among mothers and genetic factors contribute to this variability. We assessed changes in HMO concentrations during the first year of lactation and the relationship with FUT2 Secretor group and FUT3 Lewis group defining genetic polymorphisms.Methods: Milk samples were collected from lactating mothers participating in the LIFE Child cohort in Leipzig, Germany. The concentrations of 24 HMOs in milk samples collected at 3 months (N = 156), 6 months (N = 122), and 12 months (N = 28) were measured using liquid chromatography. Concentrations of HMOs were compared at all time-points and were tested for their associations with FUT2 and FUT3 genetic variations by sPLS regression.Results:FUT2 SNP rs601338 was found to predominantly define the Secretor status Se-: 11.8% and it was highly correlated with 2′-fucosyllactose (2′FL, p < 0.001) and lacto-N-fucosylpentaose-I (LNFP-I, p < 0.001). FUT3 SNPs rs28362459 and rs812936 were found to define Lewis status (Le-: 5.9%) and correlated with lacto-N-fucosylpentaose-II (LNFP-II, p < 0.001). A polygenic score predicted the abundance of 2′FL levels within Secretors' milk (adj. R2 = 0.58, p < 0.001). Mean concentrations of most of the individual HMOs, as well as the sums of the measured HMOs, the fucosylated HMOs, and the neutral HMOs were lower at 6 and 12 months compared to 3 months (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Secretor and Lewis status defined by specific FUT2 and FUT3 SNPs are confirmed to be good proxies for specific individual HMOs and milk group variabilities. The polygenic score developed here is an opportunity for clinicians to predict 2′FL levels in milk of future mothers. These results show opportunities to strengthen our understanding of factors controlling FUT2 and FUT3 functionality, the temporal changes and variability of HMO composition during lactation and eventually their significance for infant development.

BackgroundNumerous studies have shown that specific components of breast milk, considered separately, are associated with disease status in the mother or the child using univariate analyses. However, very few studies have considered multivariate analysis approaches to evaluate the relationship between multiple breast milk components simultaneously.AimHere we aimed at visualizing breast milk component complex interactions in the context of the allergy status of the mother or the child.MethodsMilk samples were collected from lactating mothers participating in the Leipziger Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationskrankheiten (LIFE) Child cohort in Leipzig, Germany. A total of 156 breast milk samples, collected at 3 months after birth from mother/infant pairs, were analyzed for 51 breast milk components. Correlation, principal component analysis (PCA) and graphical discovery analysis were used.ResultCorrelations ranging from 0.40 to 0.96 were observed between breast milk fatty acid and breast milk phospholipids levels and correlations ranging from 0 to 0.76 between specific human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) were observed. No separation of the data based on the risk of allergy in the infants was identified using PCA. When graphical discovery analysis was used, dependencies between maternal plasma immunoglobulin E (IgE) level and the breast milk immune marker transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-ß2), between TGF-ß2, breast milk immunoglobulin A (IgA) and TGF-ß1 as well as between breast milk total protein and birth weight were observed. Graphical discovery analysis also exemplifies a possible competition for the fucosyl group between 2'FL, LNFP-I and 3'FL in the HMO group. Additionally, dependencies between immune component IgA and specific HMO (6'SL and blood group A antigen tetraose type 5 or PI-HMO) were identified.ConclusionGraphical discovery analysis applied to complex matrices such as breast milk composition can aid in understanding the complexity of interactions between breast milk components and possible relations to health parameters in the mother or the infant. This approach can lead to novel discoveries in the context of health and diseases such as allergy. Our study thus represents the first attempt to visualize the complexity and the inter-dependency of breast milk components.

Age related muscle wasting leads to overall reductions of lean body mass, reduced muscle strength, and muscle function resulting in compromised quality of life. Utilizing novel nutritional strategies to attenuate such losses is of great importance in elderly individuals. We aimed to test if a complete dietary supplement containing 25 g of milk proteins and ingested in the evening before bed would improve protein metabolism in terms of whole body protein balance over a 10 h overnight period following ingestion of the test drink in healthy middle-aged male subjects. In addition we also assessed the rates of muscle protein synthesis during the second half of the night in order to see if previously reported extended amino acidemia during sleep results in increased rates of muscle protein synthesis. Seventeen healthy middle-aged male subjects (59.4 ± 3.2 year) consumed a dietary supplement drink at 21:00 containing either 25 g milk protein concentrate, 25 g maltodextrin, 7.75 g canola oil (treatment group), or an isocaloric protein void drink (placebo group). Muscle protein synthesis was assessed from a muscle biopsy following the continuous intravenous infusion of 13C-phenylalanine for 5 h (from 03:00 to 08:00). Whole body protein balance was greater in the treatment group (−0.13 ± 11.30 g prot/10 h) compared to placebo (−12.22 ± 6.91 g prot/10 h) (P ≤ 0.01). In contrast, no changes were observed on rates of muscle protein synthesis during the second half of the night. Ingestion of a dietary supplement containing 25 g of milk proteins significantly reduced the negative protein balance observed during the night. Therefore, pre-bedtime protein ingestion may attenuate overnight losses of lean tissue in healthy elderly men. Despite increases in aminoacidemia during the second part of the night, no changes were observed in the rates of muscle protein synthesis during this time. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02041143.

Ketones represent an important alternative fuel for the brain under glucose hypo-metabolic conditions induced by neurological diseases or aging, however their metabolic consequences in healthy brains remain unclear. Here we report that ketones can increase the redox NAD+/NADH ratio in the resting brain of healthy young adults. As NAD is an important energetic and signaling metabolic modulator, these results provide mechanistic clues on how nutritional ketosis might contribute to the preservation of brain health.

cope : Research is limited on diet challenges to improve health. A short-term, vegan protein diet regimen nutritionally balanced in macronutrient composition compared to an omnivorous diet was hypothesized to improve metabolic measurements of blood sugar regulation, blood lipids, and amino acid metabolism. Methods and results : This randomized, cross-over, controlled vegan verses animal diet challenge was conducted on 21 (11 female,10 male) healthy participants. Fasting plasma was measured during a 3-day diet intervention for clinical biochemistry and metabonomics. Intervention diet plans met individual caloric needs. Meals were provided and supervised. Diet compliance was monitored. Conclusions : The vegan diet lowered triglycerides, insulin and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR), bile acids, elevated magnesium levels, and changed branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) metabolism (p

The brain requires a large amount of energy, mostly derived from the metabolism of glucose, which decreases substantially with age and neurological diseases. While mounting evidence in model organisms illustrates the central role of brain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) for maintaining energy homeostasis, similar data are sparse in humans. This study explores the correlations between brain NAD, energy production and membrane phospholipid metabolism by 31-phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) across 50 healthy participants including a young (mean age 27.1-year-old) and middle-aged (mean age 56.4-year-old) group. The analysis revealed that brain NAD level and NAD+/NADH redox ratio were positively associated with ATP level and the rate of energy production, respectively. Moreover, a metabolic network linking NAD with membrane phospholipid metabolism, energy production, and aging was identified. An inverted trend between age and NAD level was detected. These results pave the way for the use of 31P-MRS as a powerful non-invasive tool to support the development of new therapeutic interventions targeting NAD associated phospho-metabolic pathways in brain aging and neurological diseases.