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Background & Objectives: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common pathologic conditions of skin in children. The effect of breastfeeding on the risk of AD remains controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the counts of cytokine-producing cells in the mothers' breast milk of infants with and without AD to assess association, if any., Methods: Breast milk samples (10 ml) were obtained from mothers of 25 infants with AD and of 26 healthy infants as a control group. The number of cytokine-producing cells including interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-13 (IL-13) and IL-4 in the milk samples was determined using an enzyme-linked immunospot assay technique., Results: The mean of IL-13-producing cells in milk was significantly lower in mothers of AD-affected infants in comparison with mothers of normal infants (324.91±255.45 vs. 538.93±465.39, P<0.05). There were no significant differences between mothers of infants with and without AD regarding milk count of IFN-γ-, TNF-α- and IL-4-producing cells., Interpretation & Conclusions: Our results showed lower number of IL-13-producing cells in milk of mothers of infants with AD. Therefore, lower count of IL-13-producing cells in mothers' milk may confer a susceptibility to AD. Further studies with a large number of samples need to be done to confirm our findings., Competing Interests: None

Introduction: Chronic diarrhea (CD) is one of the major diseases frequently occur during infancy worldwide. The effects of various substances in breast milk on preventing inflammatory diseases such as chronic diarrhea are not fully elucidated. This study aimed to determine the concentration of inflammatory cytokines, including interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) through the mothers' breast milk feeding the infants with and without CD. Material and Methods: Breast milk samples were obtained from 45 mothers feeding the infants with CD as the case group and 45 mothers feeding the healthy infants without CD (or any other inflammatory diseases) as the control group. The concentration of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines of breast milk was measured using ELISA technique. Results: The mean of IL-13 concentration was significantly reduced in the case group compared to the control group (p<0.001). Whereas the mean of IL-4 concentration was significantly increased in the CD group in comparison to the control group (p=0.001). Conclusion: The results indicated a lower IL-13 concentration and a higher IL-4 concentration in the mothers feeding the infants with CD. Therefore, low IL-13 as an anti-inflammatory cytokine in breast milk may be capable of predisposing the infants to CD. On the other hand, inflammatory cytokines may promote the immunity of infants with CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]