Maternal milk cytokines activate cognate receptors in the neonatal esophagus to program adult social behavior

母乳优于婴儿配方奶粉，因为除了营养外，它还含有 免疫球蛋白和抗菌物质。牛奶还有许多额外的生物活性。 物质，包括细胞因子/趋化因子，但它们在婴儿身体、心理和认知中的作用 发展情况尚不清楚。我们报告了母亲在产后期间的体力活动 降低牛奶中三种细胞因子/趋化因子LIF、CXCL1和CXCL2的水平，进而， 增加后代的社会优势和生殖适应性。最近，我们 在新生儿的上皮样层中确定这些细胞因子的同源受体 食道，一种可能解释不稳定牛奶行为影响的定位 细胞因子，特别是在胃肠道下端的消化环境中。我们建议进行实验 为了确定母乳细胞因子如何到达它们的靶细胞/受体并与其相互作用 新生儿GI跟踪和信号改变大脑发育和成年后代行为。这个 这项拟议工作的意义在于，它将具体说明新生儿食道这一器官是如何 以其与发育中的大脑的功能联系而闻名，可以感觉到母乳传播的母亲 细胞因子和信号传递给大脑，以改变其发育和成人的社会行为。

Breast milk is superior to baby formula because, in addition to nutrients, it also contains immunoglobulins and antibacterial substances. Milk has many additional biologically active substances, including cytokines/chemokines, but their role in infant physical, mental, and cognitive development is not known. We reported that maternal physical activity during the postnatal period reduces the level of three cytokines/chemokines, LIF, CXCL1 and CXCL2, in milk that, in turn, increases the social dominance and reproductive fitness of the offspring. More recently, we identified the cognate receptors of these cytokines in the epithelioid layer of the neonatal esophagus, a localization that may explain the behavioral effect of the otherwise labile milk cytokines, especially in the digestive environment of the lower GI track. We propose experiments to determine how maternal milk cytokines reach and interact with their target cells/receptors in the neonatal GI track and signal to alter brain development and adult offspring behavior. The significance of the proposed work is that it will specify how the neonatal esophagus, an organ not known for its functional connection to the developing brain, can sense milk borne maternal cytokines and signal to the brain to alter its development and adult social behavior.