Associations between human milk EV-miRNAs and oligosaccharide concentrations in human milk

Front Immunol. 2024 Nov 20:15:1463463. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1463463. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: Human milk contains human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), which are key bioactive components. HMOs are indigestible carbohydrates that impact infant growth and development. miRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate post-transcriptional gene expression. miRNAs are abundant in human milk and can be contained in extracellular vesicles (EVs). There is evidence that miRNAs are synthesized in the mammary epithelium and may influence mammary gland development and milk synthesis. However, the relationships between miRNAs and HMOs have yet to be fully characterized.

Methods: This study examined the associations between 210 human milk EV-miRNAs and 19 HMOs in a cohort of 98 Latina mothers. HMO measures included summary measures and concentrations of 19 HMOs. Relationships between EV-miRNAs and HMOs were examined using principal components analysis and associations between individual EV-miRNAs and HMOs were assessed.

Results: Overall patterns of EV-miRNA levels, summarized using principal components, were associated with HMO summary measures and concentrations. Levels of individual EV-miRNAs were associated with HMO summary measures and individual concentrations of 2'FL, 3FL, 3'SL, 6'SL, FLNH, LNFP I, and LNH.

Discussion: Results from this study suggest that human milk EV-miRNAs are associated with the concentration of HMOs, which may have important effects on infant growth and development.

Keywords: EV-microRNAs; extracellular vesicles; human milk (HM); human milk oligosaccharides; microRNA.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Extracellular Vesicles* / metabolism
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • Milk, Human* / chemistry
  • Milk, Human* / metabolism
  • Oligosaccharides* / metabolism
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • Oligosaccharides

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This project is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01 DK110793 and F31 DK134198), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01 ES035035), the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (P50 MD17344), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (T32 HL149646), and the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences (T32 GM149361). This work was additionally supported by the Gerber Foundation (15PN-013). LB is UC San Diego of Collaborative Human Milk Research endowed by the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation in Switzerland. Study design; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and writing the manuscript was strictly the authors’ responsibility.