Breast Milk and Saliva Lactoferrin Levels and Postnatal Cytomegalovirus Infection.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
OBJECTIVE: Very low birth weight preterm infants are at risk for life-threatening infections in the NICU. Breast milk protects against infections but carries the risk of infection by cytomegalovirus (CMV) shed in mother's milk. Lactoferrin is a breast milk and saliva protein with potent neutralizing activity against CMV. STUDY DESIGN: VLBW, maternal breast milk fed infants in the NICU and their lactating mothers were enrolled and followed for 3 months/discharge. Breast milk and infant saliva samples were collected biweekly. Maternal CMV status was determined on breast milk. CMV was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and lactoferrin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: In an in vitro neutralization assay, the IC90 of purified human lactoferrin against CMV was 2.08 ng/mL. Bovine lactoferrins were more potent, IC90s > 10-fold higher. Lactoferrin was detected in all breast milk (median: 3.3 × 106 ng/mL) and saliva (median: 84.4 ng/swab) samples. Median CMV load in breast milk was 893 copies/mL. There was no correlation between breast milk lactoferrin concentration and CMV load. Five infants acquired postnatal CMV. There was no difference in saliva or breast milk lactoferrin concentration for mother-infant pairs and postnatal CMV acquisition. CONCLUSION: Lactoferrin neutralizes CMV in vitro, but concentrations in breast milk and saliva are likely too low for effective neutralization in vivo.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Weimer, KED; Roark, H; Fisher, K; Cotten, CM; Kaufman, DA; Bidegain, M; Permar, SR
Published Date
- August 2021
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 38 / 10
Start / End Page
- 1070 - 1077
PubMed ID
- 32069486
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC9851802
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1098-8785
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1055/s-0040-1701609
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States