Changes during lactation in ganglioside distribution in human milk from mothers delivering preterm and term infants.

We studied changes during lactation in the relative concentration of individual gangliosides in human milk from mothers delivering preterm and term infants. The relative content of G(D3) was higher in colostrum than in mature milk, and tended to be higher in preterm colostrum than in term colostrum, whereas the relative content of G(M3) was higher in mature milk than in colostrum, and was also higher in term than in preterm milk. As G(D3) is usually detected in developing tissues whereas G(M3) is more abundant in mature tissues, these results suggest a relationship between the presence of individual gangliosides in human milk and immaturity of the mammary gland in mothers of preterm infants.