Comparative Lipidomic Analyses Reveal Different Protections in Preterm and Term Breast Milk for Infants
Liping Xu, Wenjuan Chen, Xingyun Wang, Zhangbin Yu, Shuping Han
Abstract
Aim: Neonates are particularly vulnerable, but have improved outcomes if they are fed human milk. Human milk lipids are a major component of human milk and play an important role in protecting infants from diseases. This study was conducted to explore the differences in lipids in preterm and term human milk and to predict the potential effects of these lipids on the development of neonates. Methods and Results: Colostrum was collected from healthy lactating mothers who had delivered term and preterm infants. The lipid profiles of preterm and term human milk were analyzed using an LC-MS/MS metabolomics approach. Orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis score plots showed significant separation of lipids in preterm and term human milk. In total, 16 subclasses of 235 differential lipids (variable importance in projection > 1, P<0.05) were identified. Notably, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine were robustly increased in preterm human milk, while diacylglycerol and ceramide were markedly decreased in preterm human milk. Pathway analysis revealed that these dysregulated lipids are closely associated with glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, Reelin signaling in neurons and LXR/RXR activation. Conclusion: The results show that the lipids in preterm and term human colostrum vary, which may be critical for neonatal development.