Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment
Human breast milk not only has nutritional properties but also holds a functional role. It contains various bioactive factors (lactoferrin, lysozyme, leukocytes, immunoglobulins, cytokines, hormones, human milk oligosaccharides, microbiome, microRNAs and stem cells) shown to contribute to several sh...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/10/863 |
| _version_ | 1797514932832436224 |
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| author | Giulia Vizzari Daniela Morniroli Federica Ceroni Elvira Verduci Alessandra Consales Lorenzo Colombo Jacopo Cerasani Fabio Mosca Maria Lorella Giannì |
| author_facet | Giulia Vizzari Daniela Morniroli Federica Ceroni Elvira Verduci Alessandra Consales Lorenzo Colombo Jacopo Cerasani Fabio Mosca Maria Lorella Giannì |
| author_sort | Giulia Vizzari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human breast milk not only has nutritional properties but also holds a functional role. It contains various bioactive factors (lactoferrin, lysozyme, leukocytes, immunoglobulins, cytokines, hormones, human milk oligosaccharides, microbiome, microRNAs and stem cells) shown to contribute to several short- and long-term health outcomes. Some of these factors appear to be involved in the infant’s neuro-cognitive development, anti-oncogenic processes, cellular communication and differentiation. Furthermore, breast milk is increasingly recognized to have dynamic characteristics and to play a fundamental role in the cross-talking mother-neonate. This narrative review aims to provide a summary and an update on these bioactive substances, exploring their functions mainly on immunomodulation, microbiome and virome development. Although the knowledge about breast milk potentiality has significantly improved, leading to discovering unexpected functions, the exact mechanisms with which breast milk exercises its bioactivity have not been completely clarified. This can represent a fertile ground for exploring and understanding the complexity behind these functional elements to develop new therapeutic strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:38:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6738a7ebd6f844cea00ac81722301d1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:38:33Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-6738a7ebd6f844cea00ac81722301d1c2023-11-22T17:50:18ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672021-09-0181086310.3390/children8100863Human Milk, More Than Simple NourishmentGiulia Vizzari0Daniela Morniroli1Federica Ceroni2Elvira Verduci3Alessandra Consales4Lorenzo Colombo5Jacopo Cerasani6Fabio Mosca7Maria Lorella Giannì8Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Pediatrics, Vittore Buzzi Children’s Hospital, University of Milan, 20154 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico NICU, Via Commenda 12, 20122 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, ItalyHuman breast milk not only has nutritional properties but also holds a functional role. It contains various bioactive factors (lactoferrin, lysozyme, leukocytes, immunoglobulins, cytokines, hormones, human milk oligosaccharides, microbiome, microRNAs and stem cells) shown to contribute to several short- and long-term health outcomes. Some of these factors appear to be involved in the infant’s neuro-cognitive development, anti-oncogenic processes, cellular communication and differentiation. Furthermore, breast milk is increasingly recognized to have dynamic characteristics and to play a fundamental role in the cross-talking mother-neonate. This narrative review aims to provide a summary and an update on these bioactive substances, exploring their functions mainly on immunomodulation, microbiome and virome development. Although the knowledge about breast milk potentiality has significantly improved, leading to discovering unexpected functions, the exact mechanisms with which breast milk exercises its bioactivity have not been completely clarified. This can represent a fertile ground for exploring and understanding the complexity behind these functional elements to develop new therapeutic strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/10/863breast-milk-derived stem cellsbio-factorsgrowth factorshealth outcomesmicrobiomehuman milk oligosaccharides |
| spellingShingle | Giulia Vizzari Daniela Morniroli Federica Ceroni Elvira Verduci Alessandra Consales Lorenzo Colombo Jacopo Cerasani Fabio Mosca Maria Lorella Giannì Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment Children breast-milk-derived stem cells bio-factors growth factors health outcomes microbiome human milk oligosaccharides |
| title | Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment |
| title_full | Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment |
| title_fullStr | Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment |
| title_short | Human Milk, More Than Simple Nourishment |
| title_sort | human milk more than simple nourishment |
| topic | breast-milk-derived stem cells bio-factors growth factors health outcomes microbiome human milk oligosaccharides |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/10/863 |
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