IMGC HYBRID Symposium 2022
October 18-20, 2022
Starts tomorrow!
Virtual tickets are still available
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Join 247 attendees from all over the world at the 19th Annual IMGC HYBRID Symposium 2022!
Presentations will focus on the following five session topics during the 2.5 day symposium:
- Hottest topics in milk science: what the world should know
- Applications of milk extracellular vesicles, miRNAs, and nucleotides for human health
- Discovery and novel applications of milk bioactives
- Immunity tackles immune challenges of the 21st century
- Functional discoveries of the microbiome, glycome, and metabolome
Click here to learn more including the registration fees.
Virtual tickets purchased before the event provide access to all live oral presentations and their recordings until April 1, 2023. You may purchase virtual tickets anytime after the event for access to the recordings until April 1, 2023.
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Read some of our speakers' abstracts on hot topics in milk research! | |
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Abstract: Hot Topics in Human Milk Research – Milk as a Biological System and COVID-19 Update
Human milk is universally recognized as the preferred food for infants because it provides not only essential and conditionally essential nutrients in necessary amounts but also other biologically active components instrumental in protecting, communicating important information to support, and promoting optimal development and growth in the infant. Indeed, researcher have long known that milk is a complex fluid containing not only nutrients but also immune factors and cells, hormones, growth factors, and complex carbohydrates. More recent findings also confirm that milk represents a rich source of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Although human milk researchers often study the presence and impacts of single milk constituents or groups, thereof, emerging evidence suggests that the holistic effects of human milk consumption during early life is not equivalent to simply the sum of its parts. Rather, it is likely that milk acts as a biological system functioning within the even more complex ecologies constituting the mother, infant, and the shared environment. In response, the Breastmilk Ecology: Genesis of Infant Nutrition (BEGIN) Project was launched in 2020 as an effort by federal and non-federal partners and extramural investigators and led by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This project, which was completed in 2022 and will be reviewed and discussed during this presentation, was spearheaded by five working groups and culminated in the drafting of several reports which collectively summarized maternal, infant, and environmental factors impacting human milk composition; milk as a biological system; descriptions of “moonshot” studies that might be conducted to better understand milk’s impacts using a systems biology approach; and translation and integration of human milk and lactation science to public health and recommendations. The current state-of-the-science related to human milk, breastfeeding, and COVID-19 – including compositional responses to vaccines – will also be summarized.
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Abstract: Cellular and Transcriptional Diversity over the Course of Human Lactation
Human breast milk (hBM) is a dynamic fluid that contains millions of viable cells, but their identities and phenotypic properties are poorly understood, particularly over lactational time. In order to better understand cellular dynamics and longitudinal lactational heterogeneity, we sought to characterize the transcriptomics of hBM-derived cells using single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) on longitudinal samples. hBM was collected longitudinally from 15 human donors across various stages of lactation (3 to 632 days postpartum). For each sample, we collected a rich set of information about the mother-infant dyad, including vaccine history, illness, and daycare status. To our knowledge, we have generated the first single-cell analysis of hBM-resident cells over the course of lactation, with a dataset comprised of over 48,478 cells from 50 samples. We confirm that the majority of cells in human breast milk are lactocytes, a specialized epithelial subset, and that cell type frequencies shift over the full course of lactation yielding greater epithelial diversity at later points postpartum. Further analysis of lactocytes reveals a continuum of cell states characterized by transcriptional changes in hormone, growth factor, milk production, and tight junction related pathways. Generalized additive models suggest that one sub-cluster, luminal cluster 1 (LC1) epithelial cells, increase as a function of time postpartum, daycare attendance, and the use of hormonal birth control. We also identify several sub-clusters of macrophages in hBM that are enriched for tolerogenic functions, possibly playing a role in protecting the mammary gland during lactation. Our description of the cellular components of breast milk, their association with maternal-infant dyad metadata and quantification of alterations at the gene and pathways levels provides the first detailed longitudinal picture of hBM cells across lactational time. This work paves the way for future investigations of how a potential division of cellular labor and differential hormone regulation might be leveraged therapeutically to support healthy lactation and potentially aid in milk production. Future work should also better delineate how the hBM environment promotes tolerogenic functions of macrophages and in turn, how macrophages may specifically support healthy lactation.
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Abstract: Simulated Preterm Infant Digestion of Human Milk Processed by High Pressure Processing and Holder Pasteurization Using the TIM-1 Dynamic Model
High pressure processing (HPP) and Holder pasteurization (HoP) of donor human milk and subsequent in vitro preterm infant digestion was investigated. Proteins in HPP-treated milk were hypothesized to digest most comparably to raw milk, given HPP minimally impacts composition and bioactivity. Pools (N=3), each produced from 3 unique donors, underwent HPP (500MPa, 10min), HoP (62.5°C, 30min), or kept raw. Dynamic in vitro digestion simulated preterm infant gastrointestinal physiology and samples were collected at 15-, 30-, 45-, 60- and 180-min from various compartments. Semi-quantitative densitometry of native/reduced polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to assess changes in the protein profile and aggregation. Particle size distribution was determined by dynamic light scattering. Mixed-effects models with post hoc comparisons tested differences among treatments. Irrespective of treatment, gastric protein digestion was limited, except the progressive digestion of bioactive milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) whey proteins and caseins. In the duodenum, caseins were rapidly digested in all treatments and MFGM proteins that resisted digestion in raw and HPP, were absent in HoP milk. Relative lactoferrin in raw milk was higher than HoP (P<0.03) at all time points, but not HPP. Undigested lactoferrin and MFGM proteins persisted in the jejunum and ileum in HPP and raw milk. Treatment did not impact digestion of α-lactalbumin. Ileal particle size (D50, number distribution) was significantly larger in raw (80.7±45.9nm) and HPP (119.5±20.7nm) versus HoP (36.3±25.1nm). Ileal outflow particle size in raw (115.3±67.5nm) and HPP (80.3±27.2nm) was also significantly larger than HoP (39.4±11.7nm). While HPP-treated milk preserves undigested high molecular weight MFGM proteins and lactoferrin similar to raw milk, HoP increased proteolysis of these proteins, significantly reducing particle size in the ileum and outflow. HPP is a promising alternative to HoP as it better preserves bioactive components that resist digestion which may benefit recipient infants immunologically.
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Abstract: SPLASH!® Milk Science Update - 10th anniversary: Highlights and Upcoming Hot Topics
In April 2012, the IMGC began publishing its translational publication, SPLASH!® Milk Science Update, which features four articles per issue on emerging topics in milk science. The IMGC conference in 2022 marks the publication's 10th anniversary for which 440 articles will have been published! This talk will reveal the editor’s choice awards articles published in the previous 12 months. It will also include a behind-the-scenes tour of SPLASH!: who are the current writers and editors, who are our readers and how do they reach our website. The SPLASH! newsletter has helped to grow the IMGC with more than 200,000 annual visits to the website each year. The talk will also cover milk science topics expected to emerge in the coming year and beyond.
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Abstract: High Temperature Processing and Subsequent Storage of Infant Formulas Induces Protein Modifications, Gut Dysfunction and Inflammation in Preterm Pigs
Processing of infant formula (IF) or protein ingredients using high temperature and subsequent storage may induce chemical protein modifications (e.g., Maillard reaction products, MRPs) and thereby reduce bioactivity. Ultra-high temperature (UHT)-treated IF is increasingly being used for newborn preterm infants when human milk is unavailable. We hypothesized that this negatively affects development in preterm infants fed high-temperature treated IFs. Using preterm pigs as a model for sensitive newborn infants, we investigated the effects of a model IFs subjected to indirect UHT treatment with or without subsequent storage (SUHT) compared to pasteurized IF (PAST) (Experiment 1). Likewise, the effects of a gentle processed serum protein concentrate (SPC) with or without extra heat treatment (HT-SPC) and storage (SHT-SPC) was compared to a whey protein concentrate (WPC) (Experiment 2). MRPs and other protein modifications were determined in the IFs and protein ingredients, and clinical outcomes and gut and immune maturation markers were investigated after 5 days of feeding. For both UHT-treated liquid IF and SPC-based IF, the heat-treatment and subsequent storage increased protein modifications and aggregates and reduced antibacterial activity. Piglets fed these formulas showed increased diarrhea and intestinal inflammation (necrotizing enterocolitis) and reduced gut morphology and function. Furthermore, feeding the stored UHT formula resulted in gut accumulation of MRPs and protein-cross-links as well as upregulation of genes involved in acute inflammatory responses and cell turnover. Protein modifications, including MRP formation, mainly occurred in heat-treated IFs and protein ingredients during storage, particularly the liquid IFs. This was associated with MRP accumulation in the gut and impaired gut maturation with increased inflammation in preterm pigs in the first days of life. Processing and storage conditions are important for the quality of IFs and might affect gut and immune development in newborn infants, particularly those that are very diet-sensitive or immature.
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Abstract: Infant Feeding Practices and Parental Perceptions During the 2022 United States Infant Formula Shortage Crisis
In May of 2022, parents living in the United States experienced a dramatic infant formula shortage largely caused by supply chain issues and the recent recall of several infant formula products over contamination concerns. An anonymous, electronic, cross-sectional survey was designed to understand infant feeding practices, parental experience and perceived support during the crisis. Ninety-nine parents that lived in the U.S. and fulfilled the study criteria completed the survey. Sixty-six percent of respondents were female, and 75% of respondents were recipients of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infant Children (WIC). Parental mean age was 30.0 years and the mean infant age was 26.8 weeks. In response to the infant formula shortage crisis, parents changed their infant feeding practices, of which several were unsafe. Seventy-nine percent of parents fed their infants U.S. infant formula brands and 39% of parents fed their infants imported infant formula brands before the shortage which were reduced during the shortage to 27% and 11%, respectively. Use of donor milk significantly increased from 2% of parents before to 28% of parents during the crisis. Use of breast milk from community sharing significantly increased from 5% of parents before to 26% of parents during the crisis. Use of watered-down infant formula had significantly increased from 2% of parents before to 29% of parents during the crisis. The resources that parents reported as most helpful in navigating the crisis differed by parental sex and WIC recipient status and included other parents, friends, and family; lactation consultants; healthcare providers; and WIC. Our study found that feeding practices in response to the infant formula shortage may pose health risks to infants. These data suggest the need for policy changes within regulatory and the healthcare system to provide families with clinical prenatal and postnatal lactation support, access to donor milk, and access to more commercially-available products.
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