Infants Are Exposed to Human Milk Oligosaccharides Already in utero

Abstract

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are complex carbohydrates that are highly abundant in and, in their complexity, unique to human milk. Accumulating evidence indicates that exposure to HMOs in the postnatal period affects immediate as well as long-term infant health and development. However, studies reported in the 1970s showed that HMOs already appear in maternal urine and blood during pregnancy and as early as the first trimester. In this pilot study we aimed to determine whether or not HMOs also appear in amniotic fluid. We enrolled women during pregnancy and collected their urine and amniotic fluid at birth as well as their milk 4 days postpartum. We analyzed the samples by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry and identified several HMOs including 2′-fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, difucosyllactose, and 6′-sialyllactose to be present in different relative abundancies in all three tissues. This is the first report that HMOs appear in amniotic fluid and that the fetus is already exposed to HMOs in utero, warranting future research to investigate the immediate and long-term implications on fetal and infant health and development.

Epigenetic Markers and Microbiota/Metabolite-Induced Epigenetic Modifications in the Pathogenesis of Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

“…Another example of the microbiome and epigenetic interactions was shown by Vähämiko et al, who showed that DNA methylation was reduced in the promoters of the obesity-associated genes FTO and MC4R in women who had probiotic supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 and their children during pregnancy (Table 1 ) [ 36 ]. In this regard, early-life (intra-uterine) exposure to these gut microbiota and their diet-derived metabolites might influence the development of the infant’s microbiome post-partum and the long-term regulation of metabolism [ 37 ]. Future research focusing on the epigenome of pregnant women and their children and its relationship with the composition of amniotic fluid is needed.…”

The Impact of Dietary Fucosylated Oligosaccharides and Glycoproteins of Human Milk on Infant Well-Being

“…In the light of recent reports, newborns already have contact with free oligosaccharides during the prenatal period of their life. Last year, Wise and coworkers [169] published the first study indicating that free oligosaccharides are also present in the urine of mothers and amniotic fluid at birth, but at a lower level than in four-day colostrum. The presence of 2 -FL, 3-FL, difucosyllactose (DFL), and 6 -SL was demonstrated, but their profile differed from that for colostrum.…”

Hidratos de carbono complejos en la leche materna: los oligosacáridos (Parte 1)

“…Acerca del significado funcional de esta presencia en el líquido amniótico solo cabe especular. La excreción urinaria de HMOs se detecta desde finales del primer trimestre del embarazo, lo que indica un pasaje por la circulación sistémica y llegando probablemente a todos los órganos maternos y al feto 30 .…”