Breastfeeding is associated with enhanced intestinal gluconeogenesis in infants

Duan Ni; Jian Tan; Laurence Macia; Ralph Nanan

doi:10.1186/s12916-024-03327-w

Breastfeeding is associated with enhanced intestinal gluconeogenesis in infants

BMC Med. 2024 Mar 7;22(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s12916-024-03327-w.

Authors

Duan Ni^{1

2

3}, Jian Tan^{1

4}, Laurence Macia^{1

4

5}, Ralph Nanan^{6

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Sydney Medical School Nepean, Nepean Hospital, The University of Sydney, Level 5, South Block, Penrith, Sydney, NSW, 2751, Australia.
³ Nepean Hospital, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, Penrith, NSW, Australia.
⁴ School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Sydney Cytometry Core Research Facility, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney and Centenary Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. ralph.nanan@sydney.edu.au.
⁷ Sydney Medical School Nepean, Nepean Hospital, The University of Sydney, Level 5, South Block, Penrith, Sydney, NSW, 2751, Australia. ralph.nanan@sydney.edu.au.
⁸ Nepean Hospital, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, Penrith, NSW, Australia. ralph.nanan@sydney.edu.au.

Abstract

Background: Breastfeeding (BF) confers metabolic benefits to infants, including reducing risks of metabolic syndrome such as obesity and diabetes later in life. However, the underlying mechanism is not yet fully understood. Hence, we aim to investigate the impacts of BF on the metabolic organs of infants.

Methods: Previous literatures directly studying the influences of BF on offspring's metabolic organs in both animal models and humans were comprehensively reviewed. A microarray dataset of intestinal gene expression comparing infants fed on breastmilk versus formula milk was analyzed.

Results: Reanalysis of microarray data showed that BF is associated with enhanced intestinal gluconeogenesis in infants. This resembles observations in other mammalian species showing that BF was also linked to increased gluconeogenesis.

Conclusions: BF is associated with enhanced intestinal gluconeogenesis in infants, which may underpin its metabolic advantages through finetuning metabolic homeostasis. This observation seems to be conserved across species, hinting its biological significance.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Formula feeding; Infants; Intestinal gluconeogenesis; Metabolic health.

MeSH terms

Animals
Breast Feeding*
Female
Gluconeogenesis
Humans
Infant
Mammals
Metabolic Syndrome*