Osteopontin supplementation of formula shifts the peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptome to be more similar to breastfed infants (38.3)

OPN is a key modulator in cell‐mediated immune and anti‐inflammatory responses that is present in breast milk, but not infant formula. A randomized clinical trial was conducted to study the impact of bovine OPN in formula on infant PBMC gene expression. Mothers chose to either breast‐(BF) or formula‐feed their infant. Formula‐fed infants received: formula (FF), formula with 65 mg/L (F65) or 130 mg/L (F130) OPN. Blood samples were collected at 1, 4 and 6 mos of age, PBMC were isolated, RNA extracted and gene expression assessed using the Affymetrix HuGene 2.0ST gene chip. To evaluate patterns of gene expression, Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) was performed on 6,441 probe sets with an overall 4x3 ANOVA FDR p‐value<0.3. Three modules (4066 probe sets) identified patterns where FF65 infants were similar to BF and different from FF and F130 across time. Functional analysis was performed with MetaCore. Pathways with higher expression in BF and F65 focused on cell proliferation and cell‐cell adhesion, supporting increased production and maturation of immune cells. In contrast, PBMC from FF and F130 infants expressed more genes related to immunoglobulin synthesis and receptors, including a gene associated with risk of childhood allergy. Thus, supplementing infant formula with OPN shifted PBMC gene expression to be more similar to BF and may support improved immune development. Grant Funding Source : Supported by: Arla Foods Ingredients and Biostime