Tovarnytska A. Breast milk feeding and risk of pathological states in preterm children

The dissertation is devoted to the study of the influence of microRNA in breast milk on the state of health and the development of complications during the upbringing of prematurely born children Thus, the aim of our study was to establish the significance of the clinical and biological factors of the exposome, miR-148a and miR-155 of the mother's breast milk, the transcription factors T-bet and FOXP3 of the child in predicting the individual probability of developing pathological conditions in premature newborns In the course of the research, a retrospective analysis of 300 case histories was performed, and a prospective clinical study of 62 patients (32 breastfed and 30 formula-fed) patients born before 37 weeks of gestation and requiring inpatient treatment in neonatal departments was conducted Inclusion criteria were exclusively breastfeeding or exclusively artificial feeding, stay in hospital treatment in the neonatal department, age at the time of examination up to 28 days. Exclusion criteria were clinically severe and unstable condition of newborns; mixed diet or change in diet in the anamnesis; the age of the baby is older than 28 days; the presence of inflammatory diseases of the mother that required medical intervention; the presence of signs of inflammation of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, nasopharynx and oropharynx of infants. Verification of the diagnosis was carried out in accordance with the international recommendations and current regulations of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The level of expression of the inflammatory transcription factors FOXP3, T-bet in the scraped cells of the buccal mucosa of all examined infants, the concentration of miR-155 and miR-148a in the breast milk of breastfed newborns was determined. We detected the expression level of the transcription factors and the microRNAs concentration by the polymerase chain reaction method in real-time. We calculated the expression level of the transcription factors and microRNAs relative to the expression level of these indicators in the control group (12 full-term newborns in a relatively satisfactory condition), where their value was taken as an averaged conditional unit - 1.0 con. un. We did not determine microRNA expression level in the formula due to the potential deficiency of these molecules This scientific work results confirm the positive protective impact of maternal breast milk on the adaptation of a neonate, the variability and correspondence of its composition to the urgent individual needs of the infant, and the presence of a prolonged connection between the mother and the newborn child. The study of microRNA breast milk expression variations opens up new perspectives for the natural modulation of inflammation in breastfed newborns