Abstract
Bovine immunoglobulin G (bIgG) was previously shown to enhance innate immune responses to toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation, via induction of trained immunity. In this study, we investigated whether minimally processed dairy streams with high levels of whey proteins as potential infant nutrition ingredients could also induce trained immunity, and to what extent this can be explained by the presence of bIgG. The minimally processed whey ingredients serum protein concentrate (SPC) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) were tested for their ability to induce trained immunity in human peripheral blood monocytes. Both ingredients induced trained immunity as evidenced by an increased production of TNF-α and, to a lesser extent, of IL-6 upon stimulation with TLR ligands. This was comparable to isolated bovine immunoglobulin G (bIgG) that served as positive control. Depletion of bIgG from both whey protein-containing ingredients did not significantly inhibit the induction of trained immunity, suggesting that the streams contain other components in addition to bIgG that are able to induce trained immunity. These results indicate that minimally processed whey ingredients may contribute to protection against infections through enhancing innate immune responsiveness to pathogens.
Highlights
An infant’s immune system is not yet fully developed in the first year of life
In order to reproduce the previous finding that Bovine immunoglobulin G (bIgG) can induce trained immunity, monocytes were isolated from buffy coats, allowed to adhere to the culture plates, and incubated with bIgG, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a protein control
BSA, as a protein control, did not enhance tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) or IL-6 compared to the control. β-glucan that was used as a positive control, as previously reported by others [13,30,31], only slightly enhanced the production of IL-6 but not of TNF-α, confirming our own earlier findings [10]
Summary
An infant’s immune system is not yet fully developed in the first year of life. Infants are more vulnerable to infectious diseases, such as respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections [1]. After birth, breastfeeding protects the infant against infections. A systematic review on 21 studies, performed in industrialized countries, shows that exclusive breastfeeding lowers the risk of overall infections, as well as gastrointestinal and lower respiratory infections [2]. Breastmilk contains a variety of bioactive components that support immune function and provide resistance against infections, and prevent excessive immune activation that could lead to local inflammation [1,3]. When breastfeeding is not possible, milk-based infant formula is used as an alternative for infant feeding [4]
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