HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jimmunol.0900829v1 183/7/4322    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Andersson, Y. Articles by Hernell, O. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Andersson, Y. Articles by Hernell, O. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH Medline Plus Health Information Breast Feeding Infant and Toddler Nutrition

Formula Feeding Skews Immune Cell Composition toward Adaptive Immunity Compared to Breastfeeding¹

Yvonne Andersson^*, Marie-Louise Hammarström, Bo Lönnerdal, Gitte Graverholt, Helen Fält^* and Olle Hernell^2,*

^* Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, and Department of Clinical Microbiology, Immunology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; and Arla Foods Ingredients, Aarhus, Denmark

The ontogeny of the immune system and the effect thereon by type of infant feeding is incompletely understood. We analyzed frequencies and composition of immune cells in blood of breastfed (BF) and formula-fed (FF) infants at 1.5, 4, and 6 mo of age. Three formulas with the same protein concentration but with varying levels of -lactalbumin and caseinoglycomacropeptide were compared. Twenty-nine exclusively BF infants served as reference, and 17 infants in each formula group completed the study. Whole blood and PBMCs were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunoflow cytometry, respectively. Leukocyte count of BF infants increased with time due to increased frequency of neutrophils. Lymphocyte count was high at 1.5 mo and was unchanged over time, as were the relative proportions of CD4⁺ βT cells, CD8⁺ βT cells, B cells, NK cells, and T cells. Most CD45R0⁺CD3⁺ cells were HLA-DR^– and hence memory cells. Compared with breastfeeding, formula feeding resulted in a significant decrease in proportion of NK cells, but a significant increase in naive CD4⁺ βT cells and an elevated CD4-to-CD8 ratio, that is, 3.3 in the combined FF groups compared with 2.6 in the BF group. No significant differences were found between the three groups of FF infants. In conclusion, blood cells of lymphoid lineage did not change significantly in frequencies or composition from 1.5 to 6 mo of age in BF infants. In contrast, FF infants displayed an ongoing maturation of adaptive immunity cells and a delayed recruitment of innate immunity cells as compared with BF infants.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ This study was financially supported by Arla Foods Ingredients, Aarhus, Denmark.

² Address correspondence and reprint to Dr. Olle Hernell, Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, SE-901 87, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. E-mail address: olle.hernell{at}pediatri.umu.se

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: BF, breastfed; FF, formula-fed; CGMP, caseinoglycomacropeptide; CON, control formula; -LAC, formula enriched in -lactalbumin; RCGMP, formula enriched in -lactalbumin and reduced in CGMP; WBC, white blood cell.