Exploring the role of breast milk ether lipids in modulating immune function in early life

Breastfeeding, the biological norm of feeding babies, provides numerous health benefits to babies. Infant-formula-feeding is thought to be inferior to breastfeeding because human milk provides specific and non-specific factors that have long-term consequences for early metabolism and the development of diseases. However, the 20th century witnessed an increase in formula feeding. Currently, only 35% of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of their life. Lipids make up 3–5% of the composition of human breast milk. Besides providing energy, breast milk lipids are also necessary for the infant growth and development. We have recently identified that infants who are breastfed have a vastly different circulating lipidome to that of infants who are formula-fed. Furthermore, breast milk and infant formula have distinct lipid profiles from each other. In particular, breastfed infants have significantly more ether lipids than formula-fed infants, and breast milk has significantly more ether lipids than infant formula. Ether lipids are a class of lipids of increasing interest in early life studies, with unique structural feature and are thought to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. We hypothesise that one way breastfeeding provides immune protection, is that breast milk ether lipids can modulate immune cell function and thereby help in the development of immunity in infants. The aims of this project are to: 1. Explore how modifiable breast milk ether lipids are by supplementing pregnant and lactating mice. 2. Explore how differing milk ether lipids impacts the immune cells of the pups, including the immune cell lipidome and the susceptibility of these immune cells to pathogenic stimuli such as oxidative stress and inflammation.