Maternal trans-vaccenic acid shapes neonatal T cell development and early-life immune imprinting
Abstract
How maternal nutrition influences neonatal immune development and imprinting through breastfeeding remains largely unclear. We report that maternal supplementation with trans-vaccenic acid (TVA), the predominant naturally occurring trans-fatty acid in human breast milk, promoted neonatal T cell development in mice. Neonates fed by mothers on a TVA-enriched diet showed an expanded naïve cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4 + ) T cell population and enhanced adaptive immunity against infection. TVA reprogrammed neonatal naïve CD4 + T cells through a G protein–coupled receptor–CCCTC-binding factor axis and promoted T helper cells (Th1)–skewing by cooperating with the transcription factor TBX21. Early-life exposure to maternal TVA via breastfeeding supported long-lasting antiviral immunity in adulthood. Our findings establish the multifaceted benefits of maternal nutrition and breastfeeding via TVA in promoting infant immune homeostasis and protective immunity.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (29)
Hao Fan
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Zhong Zheng
Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Kaitlyn Oliphant
Department of Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jiacheng Li
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ryan Mack
Department of Cancer Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA.
Cheng-Wei Ju
Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Brandon Trandai
Department of Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jiayi Tu
Freya Q. Zhang
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Rukang Zhang
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Zhicheng Xie
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Chunzhao Yin
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Chufan Cai
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Megan S. Kennedy
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Tess McNeely
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Candace Cham
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Hardik Shah
Lei Dong
Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Rui Su
Camilia R. Martin
Division of Neonatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Brian T. Layden
Department of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Robert B. Hamanaka
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Gökhan M. Mutlu
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Eugene B. Chang
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jiwang Zhang
Department of Cancer Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA.
Hongbo Chi
Erika C. Claud
Department of Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Chuan He
Jing Chen