%0 Journal Article
%T Maternal immune markers in serum during gestation and in breast milk and the risk of asthma-like symptoms at ages 6 and 12 months: a longitudinal study
%A Nelis Soto-Ramirez
%A Wilfried Karmaus
%A Mitra Yousefi
%A Hongmei Zhang
%A Jihong Liu
%A Venugopal Gangur
%J Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1710-1492-8-11
%X Pregnant women were recruited in Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. Blood (median: three weeks before delivery) and breast milk (three weeks after delivery) samples were collected. Concentrations of interferon (IFN)-¦Ã, IFN gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10 or CXCL10), CCL11, interleukin (IL) 1¦Â, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, CXCL8, IL-10, IL-12(p70), IL-13, transforming growth factor (TGF)-¦Â1, and immunoglobulin (Ig) A in both maternal serum and milk whey were determined via immunoassays. Asthma-like symptoms (AS) of the infant were ascertained at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Generalized estimating equations assessed relative risks (RRs) of immune markers for repeated measurements of AS, considering intra-individual correlations and adjusting for confounders. To provide comparable risk estimates, quartiles of the immune markers were used, except for IL-5 in whey and IgA in serum, which were dichotomized.Of 178 women, 161 provided blood and 115 breast milk samples. IL-12(p70), IL-4, IL-10, IL-1¦Â, and CCL11 in serum and in whey were not further considered for the statistical analyses since the proportion of non-detectable values was high. Most immune markers in serum and milk whey were moderately or highly correlated; however, IgA was negatively correlated. Infants in the highest quartile of IL-13 in both serum and whey were at a higher risk of AS (RR = 3.02 and 4.18; respectively) compared to infants in the first quartile. High levels of IL-5 in serum and whey was also identified as a risk. In addition, increased secretory IgA and TGF-¦Â1 in breast milk reduced the risks of AS.Maternal serum and whey levels of IL-5 and IL-13 are risk markers for AS; whey IgA and TGF-¦Â1 seem to be protective. Only focusing on breast milk portend that milk cytokines IL-5 and IL-13 have adverse effects. However, similar immune exposures during late gestation and via milk suggest that both may enhance AS among infants.
%K Breast milk
%K Maternal serum
%K Immune markers
%K Cytokines
%K Chemokines
%K Asthma-like symptoms
%K Children
%K Longitudinal study
%U http://www.aacijournal.com/content/8/1/11/abstract