We know that breast milk is the best food we can give to a newborn baby, due to its many benefits. One of them is the protection that the newborn receives through it to protect itself against diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis, asthma, allergies or childhood obesity, among others.
There is no doubt that breastfeeding is associated with better health outcomes in childhood and adulthood. However, the immune mechanisms responsible for these effects have been poorly understood. Researchers from the University of Birmingham (UK) have discovered, in a study recently published in the journal Allergy , why breastfed babies have better immune system.
Regulatory T cells in human milk
According to this new study, researchers have observed for the first time that a specific type of immune cells, called regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs), expand in the first three weeks of life in breastfed human infants and are almost twice as abundant as in formula-fed babies.
These cells also control the baby’s immune response against maternal cells transferred with breast milk and help reduce inflammation.
Research also shows that specific bacteria, called Veillonella and Gemella , that support the function of regulatory T cells, are more abundant in the gut of breastfed babies .
What are T cells? As we read on Immunology.org, as their name suggests, regulatory T cells (also called Tregs) are T lymphocytes that regulate or suppress other cells of the immune system . Treg cells control immune responses to foreign particles or self (antigens) and help prevent autoimmune diseases.
Benefits for breastfed babies
Study lead author Gergely Toldi, a researcher at the University of Birmingham and consultant neonatologist at the NHS Foundation for Women and Children Birmingham, said:
“Before our research, the exceptional importance and early involvement of these specific cell types in breastfed babies was unknown.”
“We hope that this invaluable new information will lead to increased breastfeeding rates and more babies benefiting from the benefits of breastfeeding.”
To conduct the study, the scientists analyzed data from 38 mothers and their babies. They collected small amounts of blood and stool samples at birth and then again during home visits when the babies were three weeks old.
Sixteen of the 38 babies (42%) were exclusively breastfed during the study, while nine babies were mixed-fed and 13 babies were exclusively formula-fed.
Scientists now plan to continue studying the same biological mechanism in premature and sick babies who have developed inflammatory complications.
Via | Infosalus
