Fish oil supplementation of lactating mothers affects cytokine production in 2 1/2‐year‐old children
- 1 July 2005
- Vol. 40 (7) , 669-676
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-005-1429-6
Abstract
N−3 PUFA influence immune functioning and may affect the cytokine phenotype during development. To examine whether maternal fish oil supplementation during lactation could modify later immune responses in children, 122 lactating Danish mothers with a fish intake below the population median were randomized to groups supplemented for the first 4 mon of lactation with 4.5 g/d of fish oil (equivalent to 1.5 g/d of n−3 long-chain PUFA) or olive oil. Fifty-three mothers with a fish intake in the highest quartile of the population were also included. The FA composition of erythrocyte membranes was measured at 4 mon and at 2 1/2 yr. Plasma immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and cytokine production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated whole-blood cultures were determined at 2 1/2 yr. Erythrocyte n−3 PUFA at 4 mon were higher in infants from the fish oil group compared with the olive oil group (PP=0.034), whereas interleukin-10 (IL-10) production was similar. The IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio was twofold higher in the fish oil group (P=0.019) and was positively correlated with 20∶5n−3/20∶4n−6 in erythrocytes at 4 mon (P=0.050). The percentages of atopic children and plasma IgE were not different in the two groups, but the study was not designed to look at atopy. Cytokine responses and erythrocyte FA composition in children of mothers with a high fish intake were intermediate in comparison with those in the randomized groups. Fish oil supplementation during lactation resulted in increased in vitro IFN-γ production in the children 2 yr after the supplementation was given, which may reflect a faster maturation of the immune system.Keywords
This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit:
- Maternal breast milk long‐chain n‐3 fatty acids are associated with increased risk of atopy in breastfed infantsClinical and Experimental Allergy, 2004
- Fish oil supplementation in pregnancy modifies neonatal allergen-specific immune responses and clinical outcomes in infants at high risk of atopyJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2003
- The value of perinatal immune responses in predicting allergic disease at 6 years of ageAllergy, 2003
- In vitro effects of eicosanoids derived from different 20‐carbon fatty acids on T helper type 1 and T helper type 2 cytokine production in human whole‐blood culturesClinical and Experimental Allergy, 2003
- Neonatal interleukin‐12 capacity is associated with variations in allergen‐specific immune responses in the neonatal and postnatal periodsClinical and Experimental Allergy, 2003
- Maternal fish oil supplementation in pregnancy reduces interleukin‐13 levels in cord blood of infants at high risk of atopyClinical and Experimental Allergy, 2003
- Breast‐feeding, a complex support system for the offspringPediatrics International, 2002
- In the Absence of IL-12, CD4+ T Cell Responses to Intracellular Pathogens Fail to Default to a Th2 Pattern and Are Host Protective in an IL-10−/− SettingImmunity, 2002
- T-cell responses in allergy and asthmaCurrent Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2001
- Atopic Sensitization during the First Year of Life in Relation to Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in Human MilkPediatric Research, 1998