Trajectories of human milk gangliosides during the first 400 days and maternal-to-offspring transfer of gangliosides: Results from a Chinese cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Gangliosides are crucial for early-life cognition and immunity development. However, limited data exists on gangliosides within the Chinese population, and maternal-to-fetal/infant ganglioside transport remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate gangliosides concentrations and trajectories in Chinese human milk during the first 400 days of lactation, and seek to understand gangliosides transmission between mother and offspring.

METHODS

This study involved 921 cross-sectional participants providing human milk samples across 0 to 400 days of lactation, and 136 longitudinal participants offering maternal plasma, cord plasma, and human milk samples within the first 45 days postpartum. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used for quantification of gangliosides.

RESULTS

Human milk GM3 (Neu5Acα2-3Galβ1-4GlcβCer) concentration increased from 2.29±1.87 to 13.93±4.82 μg/mL, while GD3 (Neu5Acα2-8Neu5Acα2-3Galβ1-4GlcβCer) decreased from 17.94±6.41 to 0.30±0.50 μg/mL during the first 400 days postpartum (all P<0.05). Consistent results were observed in cross-sectional and longitudinal participants. GD3 concentration gradually increased from maternal plasma (1.58 μg/mL) through cord plasma (2.05 μg/mL) to colostrum (21.35 μg/mL). Significant positive correlations were observed between maternal and cord plasma for both GM3 (r=0.30, P<0.001) and GD3 (r=0.35, P<0.001), and maternal plasma GD3 also correlated positively with colostrum levels (r=0.21, P=0.015). Additionally, in maternal and cord plasma, gangliosides were mainly linked with 16- and 18-carbon fatty acids. However, human milk GM3 showed a broad spectrum of fatty acid chain lengths, whereas GD3 was primarily tied to very long chain fatty acids (≥20 carbon).

CONCLUSIONS

We identified an increase in GM3 and a decrease in GD3 concentration in human milk, with GD3 notably more concentrated in cord plasma and colostrum. Importantly, gangliosides concentrations in maternal plasma positively correlated with those in cord plasma and colostrum. Our findings contribute to the existing Chinese data on gangliosides and enhance understanding of their transmission patterns from mother to offspring.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

Registry name: Maternal-neonatal nutrients status and related factors: a national comparative studyClinical Trial Registry number: ChiCTR1800015387Web link to study on registry: https://www.chictr.org.cn.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.