Breast-Milk Microbiota Linked to Celiac Disease Development in Children: A Pilot Study From the PreventCD Cohort

Abstract

Celiac disease (CeD) is an immune-mediated disorder triggered by exposure to dietary gluten proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. In addition to the host genome, the microbiome has recently been linked to CeD risk and pathogenesis. To progress in our understanding of the role of breast milk microbiota profiles in CeD, we have analyzed samples from a subset of mothers (n = 49) included in the PreventCD project, whose children did or did not develop CeD. The results of the microbiota data analysis indicated that neither the BMI, HLA-DQ genotype, the CeD condition nor the gluten-free diet of the mothers could explain the human milk microbiota profiles. Nevertheless, we found that origin country, the offspring's birth date and, consequently, the milk sampling date influenced the abundance and prevalence of microbes in human milk, undergoing a transition from an anaerobic to a more aerobic microbiota, including potential pathogenic species. Furthermore, certain microbial species were more abundant in milk samples from mothers whose children went on to develop CeD compared to those that remained healthy. These included increases in facultative methylotrophs such as Methylobacterium komagatae and Methylocapsa palsarum as well as in species such as Bacteroides vulgatus, that consumes fucosylated-oligosaccharides present in human milk, and other breast-abscess associated species. Theoretically, these microbiota components could be vertically transmitted from mothers-to-infants during breastfeeding, thereby influencing CeD risk.

Microbiota and Metabolomic Patterns in the Breast Milk of Subjects with Celiac Disease on a Gluten-Free Diet

“…Given that the majority of available microbiome and virome literature at this time is at the species level, here we focus the discussion of our results at the species level. While a previous study which utilized 16S sequencing did not identify differences in the breast milk microbiota of subjects with CD compared with healthy controls [ 27 ], we identified statistically significant differences in eight bacterial species and two viral species between the two groups. The eight bacteria isolated in our study have previously been isolated from the breast milk of healthy subjects [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ].…”

“…One case-control study utilized polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques and found a reduced abundance of Bifidobacterium species in mothers with CD when compared with mothers without CD at one month after delivery [ 26 ]. Another study compared the breast milk microbiota of subject’s whose children later did or did not develop CD at 9 months after delivery using 16S rRNA sequencing [ 27 ]. While they did not identify significant differences between the breast milk microbial composition in subjects with or without CD, they found that the breast milk of subjects whose children later developed CD had an increased abundance of Methylobacterium komagatae, Methylocapsa palsarum , and Bacteroides vulgatus [ 27 ].…”

Cell cycle regulated DNA methyltransferase: fluorescent tracking of a DNA strand-separation mechanism and identification of the responsible protein motif

“…The multiple sequence alignment from the 80 amino acid C-terminus of CcrM (Figure 7 ) reveals conservation among a variety of N4/N6-DNA methyltransferases from alphaproteobacteria. The organisms listed represent this variety and include human pathogens Rhodobacter massiliensis ( 46 ), Pannonibacter pragmitetus ( 47 ), Inquilinus limosus ( 48 ), Haematospirillum jordaniae ( 49 ) and Methylocapsa palsarum ( 50 ), a bacteria that contributes to biogas production Rhodopseudomonas faecalis ( 51 ), a plant-growth promoting bacteria Azospirillum sp. RU38E ( 52 ), two methanotrophs Methylocapsa palsarum ( 53 ) and Methylocella silvestris ( 54 ), and Tepidicaulis Marinus , which reduces nitrate ( 55 ).…”

An Insight into Probiotics Bio-Route: Translocation from the Mother’s Gut to the Mammary Gland

“…In the breast milk of mothers with celiac disease, the levels of cytokines, Bacteroides spp., and Bifidobacterium spp. were reduced [128]. Women diagnosed as HIV-positive had higher bacterial diversity and higher prevalence of Lactobacillus spp.…”