Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) Abstracts (Workshops & Annales)

It is a great success that biotechnological means are available today to produce amounts of single human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) in a purity which allows performing metabolic and functional studies even in humans. As recent data indicate that there is a link between the Lewis blood group and the secretor status of an individual and certain inflammatory diseases, this review will also focus on the metabolic fate of secretor- and Lewis blood group-specific components.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third most abundant component of human milk. So far, more than 150 different and structurally distinct HMOs have been identified. HMO composition varies substantially between women, but remains fairly constant over the course of lactation in the same woman. Which maternal genetic and environmental factors drive the interindividual variations in HMO composition remains poorly understood, and it is currently unknown whether or not a woman’s characteristic HMO composition has evolved to match her own infant’s specific needs.

The immune system of the infant is functionally immature and naïve. Human milk contains bioactive proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates that protect the newborn and stimulate innate and adaptive immune development. This review will focus on the role human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) play in neonatal gastrointestinal and systemic immune develop ment and function.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are elongations of the milk sugar lactose by galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, fucose and sialic acid. The HMOs composition of brestmilk is strongly influenced by polymorphisms of the maternal fucosyltransferases, FUT2 and FUT3, and by stage of lactation. Clinical observational studies with breastfed

infant-mother dyads associate specific HMOs with infant gut microbiota, morbidity, infectious diarrhea and allergies.

Human milk oligosaccharides are key components of human milk and appear in various compositions and concentrations in all human milks. In regulatory sense human milk oligosaccharides are classified as novel foods or novel food ingredients requiring safety assessment.