Milk Mineral and Cytokine Concentrations Differ in Guatemalan Mothers with Subclinical Mastitis (SCM) by Stage of Lactation

• DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.582.3
• Publication Date: 2021-06-21T18:21:42Z
• Authors: Chen Li; Hilary Wren; Noel Solomons; Marilyn Scott; Kristine Koski
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences

BackgroundLittle is known about the impact of SCM on the immunological and mineral concentrations of human breast milk. Our objective was to determine if minerals and cytokines differed in mothers with and without SCM during 3 stages of lactation.MethodsTransitional milk (TM: 5‐17d, n=21), early mature milk (EMM: 18‐46d, n=32) and mature milk (MM: 109‐187d, n=59) samples were collected from Mam‐Mayan women. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry was used to analyze the concentration of 13 minerals (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Sr, Se, Rb, Fe, P) and immunoassay with Luminex was used to determine the concentration of 4 cytokines (IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, TNF‐α).ResultsPrevalences of SCM, using Na/K > 0.6, were 26.3% in TM, 15.6% in EMM and 8.9% in MM. Na, K, P, Cu, Fe, Rb, Zn and IL6 were higher in TM and EMM whereas Mg was higher in MM, as was IL‐8. SCM was associated with changes in P and Se and with the presence of 3 cytokines (IL‐6, IL‐8, and TNF‐α) in TM only. Regression analyses for each mineral showed that cytokines were associated with higher milk mineral concentrations: IL‐1β with P, Fe and Mn; IL‐6 with Na, K, Ca and Cu; IL‐8 with Zn; and TNF‐α with Na, Mn and Se.ConclusionMilk minerals and cytokines concentrations vary by lactation stages. The cytokines are associated with changes in milk mineral concentrations. Our finding suggests that IL‐6 is associated with elevated Na/K ratio.FundingMcGill University International Mobility Award