An international team of researchers from several institutions including the Medical College of Baylor, found that the complex interactions between the microbiome and the sugars in breast milk influence rotavirus infection in newborns. This study offers a new perspective on rotavirus infection in neonatal and identificeret componentinstance milk, which can improve the effectiveness of live, attenuated rotavirus vaccines.
The study’s author, Dr. Sasirekha Ramani, associate Professor of molecular Virology and Microbiology at the Medical College of Baylor, pagliasotti open:
Rotavirus infection causes diarrhea and vomiting mainly in children under 5 years except babies under 28 days who have the infection usually has no symptoms. However, in some cases the infection in neonates is associated with serious gastrointestinal problems. Until now it was not known why sometimes infection occurs without any symptoms, and sometimes with them. Starting my research a few years ago, we found that a specific strain of rotavirus may be associated with both asymptomatic infections and clinical symptoms in the newborn.
Ramani and her colleagues first sought answers in the very strain of the virus. They tried to understand whether factors such as the number of viral particles or virus genome, with the presence of symptoms in neonates, but have not found any connection between them. The researchers then began to look for the cause in the physical characteristics of newborns. They were interested in the question whether there are physical features, which could explain why this virus infect newborns, and why there are differences in clinical symptoms?
Unexpectedly, scientists have discovered that a specific sugar present in breast milk, enhance the infection of cells of the neonatal rotavirus strain.
The results surprised us. It is known that breast milk helps protect the newborns from rotavirus, a sugar in breast milk can reduce the risk of other infections, but in the case konkretnym virus strain we used in the experiments,there was absolutely opposite.
Scientists continued their study involving mothers and infants to determine to confirm whether the results found in the laboratory, in real life.
We found that some of the same specific sugars in human milk that enhance infectionsthe cells present in the milk of mothers of newborns with symptomatic infection.
In addition, the researchers found the link between the microbiome of breast milk mothers and gastrointestinal symptoms in newbornsthat made them think about how microbiome impact on gastrointestinal symptoms.
What is most interesting for us is the fact that these sugars also increase the replication of attenuated live rotavirus vaccine, pohojaya neonatal virus that we study. Improved viral replication can potentially be transformed into a more effective immune response against the virus, which will lead to a better protection of the newborn. That’s what we want to explore in the future as it may become a new strategy to increase the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines in that part of the world where they are not effective enough.
Study co-author, Dr. Mary K. Estes, Professor, Department of human and molecular Virology at the Medical College of Baylor and Professor Emeritus-founder of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases, adds:
One of the most important things for us is that the results obtained are closely linked to public health. Mnogomillionnoi our group of researchers are allowed to answer questions about how this unique rotavirus infects newborns. The results offer opportunities to improve the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines where they are most needed.
According to scientists, the discovery proves that it is necessary to examine more carefully the composition and variancecomponents breast milk. Understanding how rotavirus and other pathogens can interact with components of breast milk, will help in the development of new strategies of vaccination.
