Association of umbilical cord blood and breast milk immune composition with allergic disease manifestation

Some allergic diseases begin in childhood. Most cases of atopic dermatitis and food allergies develop in early childhood. The intrauterine and early postnatal periods are the most vulnerable times in terms of immune system maturation and the formation of a predisposition to diseases. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the immune profile of umbilical cord blood and breast milk with the development of allergic diseases in children. A total of 379 mother-child pairs were enrolled in the 3-year prospective cohort study. The following were measured in umbilical cord blood specimens and in breast milk samples (collected in one and three months after birth) using an ELISA test: IgE, sIgA, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-25, TSLP, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, CCL17, CCL22, CXCL10. IgE levels in cord blood (р = 0.008) were higher and sIgA levels (р = 0.0025) in breast milk (collected within 3 months after birth) were lower in children who developed a food allergy than those in children who did not develop a food allergy. Children who developed atopic dermatitis were exposed in utero to higher cord blood concentrations of IgE (р = 0.007) and IFN-γ (р = 0.017). In the early postnatal period they were exposed (within first month) to higher breast milk concentrations of IL-5 (р = 0.04) than healthy children. Thus, the data presented have determined a relationship between food allergy or atopic dermatitis manifestation in toddlers and intrauterine exposure via cord blood, as well as postnatal exposure via breast milk to higher concentrations of IL-5, IgE, IFN-γ and lower sIgA level. This suggests a high likelihood for immune programming.