Immunoendocrinology, Division of Medical Biology, Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands.
Food Funct. 2020 Nov 18;11(11):9445-9467. doi: 10.1039/d0fo01700k.
Human milk (HM) is the gold standard for the nutrition of infants. An important component of HM is human milk oligosaccharides (hMOs), which play an important role in gut microbiota colonization and gut immune barrier establishment, and thereby contribute to the maturation of the immune system in early life. Guiding these processes is important as disturbances have life-long health effects and can lead to the development of allergic diseases. Unfortunately, not all infants can be exclusively fed with HM. These infants are routinely fed with infant formulas that contain hMO analogs and other non-digestible carbohydrates (NDCs) to mimic the effects of hMOs. Currently, the hMO analogs 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), and pectins are added to infant formulas; however, these NDCs cannot mimic all hMO functions and therefore new NDCs and NDC mixtures need to become available for specific groups of neonates like preterm and disease-prone neonates. In this review, we discuss human data on the beneficial effects of infant formula supplements such as the specific hMO analog 2'-FL and NDCs as well as their mechanism of effects like stimulation of microbiota development, maturation of different parts of the gut immune barrier and anti-pathogenic effects. Insights into the structure-specific mechanisms by which hMOs and NDCs exert their beneficial functions might contribute to the development of new tailored NDCs and NDC mixtures. We also describe the needs for new in vitro systems that can be used for research on hMOs and NDCs. The current data suggest that "tailored infant formulas" for infants of different ages and healthy statuses are needed to ensure a healthy development of the microbiota and the gut immune system of infants.
人乳是婴儿营养的金标准。人乳低聚糖（hMO）是人乳的重要组成部分，在肠道微生物定植和肠道免疫屏障建立中发挥重要作用，从而有助于生命早期免疫系统的成熟。指导这些过程很重要，因为干扰会产生终身的健康影响，并可能导致过敏性疾病的发展。不幸的是，并非所有婴儿都可以完全母乳喂养。这些婴儿通常会食用含有 hMO 类似物和其他不可消化碳水化合物（NDC）的婴儿配方奶粉，以模拟 hMO 的作用。目前，2'-岩藻糖基乳糖（2'-FL）、半乳糖寡糖（GOS）、低聚果糖（FOS）和果胶等 hMO 类似物被添加到婴儿配方奶粉中；然而，这些 NDC 无法模拟所有 hMO 的功能，因此需要为早产儿和易患病的新生儿等特定群体提供新的 NDC 和 NDC 混合物。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了婴儿配方奶粉补充剂（如特定的 hMO 类似物 2'-FL 和 NDC）对人类的有益影响及其作用机制的人体数据，例如刺激微生物群的发育、肠道免疫屏障不同部分的成熟和抗病原体的作用。对 hMO 和 NDC 发挥有益功能的结构特异性机制的深入了解可能有助于开发新的定制 NDC 和 NDC 混合物。我们还描述了对新的体外系统的需求，这些系统可用于研究 hMO 和 NDC。目前的数据表明，需要为不同年龄和健康状况的婴儿提供“定制婴儿配方奶粉”，以确保婴儿肠道微生物群和肠道免疫系统的健康发育。
