Completed Research Project

Title / Titel
PDF
Impact of maternal breast milk on the establishment of gut microbiota of infants during early life: a mechanistic study
Summary / Zusammenfassung
The main objective will be to investigate the way of infant gut colonization through feeding breast milk harboring commensal gut bacteria translocated from maternal intestine. Indeed, presence of gut bacteria in breast milk and peripheral blood from maternal intestine was shown (Perez et al, 2007) and breast milk bacteria can efficiently colonize infant gut (Martin et al, 2006). To understand this newly recognised way of colonization we will examine bacterial diversity of breast milk, mother and infant stools to identify a common bacterial marker using cultural and molecular methods. Cultural methods will be mainly used to detect and quantify commensal gut bacteria in the different samples. Molecular methods such as Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Temporal Temperature Gel Electrophoresis (TTGE) will be used secondarily to complete and validate the cultural study.
Then, we will investigate the balance of human mother microbiota before delivery and during lactation using Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) method. The evolution of human microbiota during pregnancy and lactation was never extensively investigated and could influence bacterial translocation from gut to breast milk. SCFA analysis should provide interesting data about infant and mother microbiota activities during the whole study.

Project members are:

Prof. Dr. ing. Christophe Lacroix
Laboratory of Food Biotechnology
Institute of Food Science and Nutrition
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Zürich, Switzerland

Prof. Dr. med. Christian P. Braegger
Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition
University Children's Hospital
Zürich, Switzerland
Keywords / Suchbegriffe
Breast milk, breastfeeding, gut colonization, intestinal micobiota
Project Leadership and Contacts /
Projektleitung und Kontakte
Prof Christian Braegger (Project Leader)christian.braegger@kispi.uzh.ch
Dr Michael Friedtmichael.friedt@kispi.uzh.ch
Dr Patrick Buehrpatrick.buehr@kispi.uzh.ch
Funding Source(s) /
Unterstützt durch
Private Sector (e.g. Industry)
 
In Collaboration with /
In Zusammenarbeit mit
Prof. Dr. ing. Christophe Lacroix
Laboratory of Food Biotechnology
Institute of Food Science and Nutrition
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Zürich		Switzerland
Duration of Project / Projektdauer
Jan 2009 to Jul 2010

© Universität Zürich, 1. August 2010, Impressum