Longitudinal comparison of chemokines in breastmilk early postpartum among HIV-1-infected and uninfected Kenyan women

Breastfeed Med. 2007 Sep;2(3):129-38. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2007.0009.

Abstract

Breastmilk chemokines have been associated with increased HIV-1 RNA levels in breastmilk and altered risk of mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission. To characterize CC and CXC chemokines in breastmilk postpartum, we collected breastmilk specimens at regular intervals for 6 months after delivery from women with and without HIV-1 infection and used commercial ELISA kits to measure breastmilk concentrations of MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, RANTES, and SDF-1alpha. Among 54 HIV-1-infected and 26 uninfected women, mean chemokine levels were compared cross-sectionally and longitudinally at days 5 and 10, and months 1 and 3 postpartum. For both HIV-1-infected and uninfected women, breastmilk chemokine levels were highest at day 5 for MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and SDF-1alpha, and subsequently decreased. RANTES levels remained constant over the follow-up period among HIV-1-uninfected women, and increased moderately among HIV-1-infected women. For MIP-1beta and RANTES, breastmilk levels were significantly higher among HIV-1-infected women compared to uninfected women early postpartum. In addition, HIV-1-infected women transmitting HIV-1 to their infant had consistently higher breastmilk RANTES levels than those who did not transmit, with the greatest difference observed at 1 month (2.68 vs. 2.21 log10 pg/mL, respectively; p = 0.007). In summary, all four chemokines were most elevated within the first month postpartum, a period of high transmission risk via breastmilk. MIP-1beta and RANTES levels in breastmilk were higher among HIV-1-infected women than among uninfected women, and breastmilk RANTES was positively associated with vertical transmission in this study, consistent with results from our earlier cohort.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Chemokine CCL3
  • Chemokine CCL4
  • Chemokine CCL5 / analysis
  • Chemokines / analysis*
  • Chemokines, CXC / analysis
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / metabolism*
  • HIV Infections / transmission
  • HIV-1*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
  • Kenya
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins / analysis
  • Milk, Human / chemistry*
  • RNA, Viral / blood
  • Risk Assessment
  • Time Factors
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Chemokine CCL3
  • Chemokine CCL4
  • Chemokine CCL5
  • Chemokines
  • Chemokines, CXC
  • Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins
  • RNA, Viral