Shaping the Gut Microbiota by Breastfeeding: The Gateway to Allergy Prevention?

Evidence is accumulating that demonstrates the importance of the gut microbiota in health and diseases such as allergy. Recent studies emphasize the importance of the "window of opportunity" in early life, during which interventions altering the gut microbiota induce long-term effects. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in pediatrics Vol. 7; p. 47
Main Authors: van den Elsen, Lieke W. J., Garssen, Johan, Burcelin, Remy, Verhasselt, Valerie
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 27.02.2019
Subjects:
allergy
breastmilk
gut microbiota
neonate
Pediatrics
prevention
allergy
neonate
breastmilk
gut microbiota
prevention
ISSN:2296-2360, 2296-2360
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Evidence is accumulating that demonstrates the importance of the gut microbiota in health and diseases such as allergy. Recent studies emphasize the importance of the "window of opportunity" in early life, during which interventions altering the gut microbiota induce long-term effects. The neonate's gut microbiota composition and metabolism could therefore play an essential role in allergic disease risk. Breastfeeding shapes the gut microbiota in early life, both directly by exposure of the neonate to the milk microbiota and indirectly, via maternal milk factors that affect bacterial growth and metabolism such as human milk oligosaccharides, secretory IgA, and anti-microbial factors. The potential of breastmilk to modulate the offspring's early gut microbiota is a promising tool for allergy prevention. Here, we will review the existing evidence demonstrating the impact of breastfeeding on shaping the neonate's gut microbiota and highlight the potential of this strategy for allergy prevention.
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This article was submitted to Pediatric Immunology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics
Reviewed by: Klaus Tenbrock, RWTH Aachen Universität, Germany; Beatriz Elena Marciano, National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States
Edited by: George N. Konstantinou, 424 General Military Hospital, Greece
ISSN:2296-2360
2296-2360
DOI:10.3389/fped.2019.00047