Breast milk correlates of immune protection against early infancy Cryptosporidium infection in a rural Tanzanian cohort (1015.6)

Abstract

Breast milk (BM) offers an important immunological bridge from mothers to infants; but BM immunology is incompletely understood. We aimed to determine how BM cytokines and immunoglobulins (Ig) were associated with infant Cryptosporidium infection in a prospective cohort of 108 mother (39% HIV+)/infant pairs. BM and maternal serum was analyzed at month 1, 2, 3, and 6 postpartum. Greater BM IgA, IgM, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 levels were consistently associated with lower odds of infant Cryptosporidium infection, but the trend was not significant. Absolute BM cytokine levels did not differ by maternal Cryptosporidium or HIV infection, and BM and serum cytokines were uncorrelated. The BM cytokine score was determined by categorizing BM cytokines (tertiles) and calculating individual scores for the equation: IFNγ + IL2 + IL6 + IL13 ‐ TNFα. Infant Cryptosporidium infection was associated with the BM cytokine score at each time point (OR=0.57; p=0.034), adjusting for breastfeeding practice and maternal Cryptosporidium infection. These results suggest BM cytokines are associated with early infant Cryptosporidium infection independent of current maternal Cryptosporidium infection or breastfeeding practices.Grant Funding Source: Supported in part by National Science Foundation IGERT