ArticleEuropean journal of nutrition2020
Breast milk interleukin-7 and thymic gland development in infancy.
Article in European journal of nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of probiotics on thymus size and markers of infection in late infancy: a randomized controlled trial.Pediatric research · 2021Trial
- IL-7 in colostrum is associated with atopic dermatitis at 9 months of age: A birth cohort in Japan.Asia Pacific allergy · 2026Article
- Human milk feeding practices and serum immune profiles of one-year-old infants in the CHILD birth cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Observational
- The Effect of Breastfeeding on Food Allergies in Newborns and Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Evidence for human milk as a biological system and recommendations for study design-a report from "Breastmilk Ecology: Genesis of Infant Nutrition (BEGIN)" Working Group 4.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Article
- Thymus size in children with moderate malnutrition: a cohort study from Burkina Faso.Pediatric research · 2021Article
- Maternal Microbiota, Early Life Colonization and Breast Milk Drive Immune Development in the Newborn.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Neonatal Diet Impacts Circulatory miRNA Profile in a Porcine Model.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Article
- The Function and Alteration of Immunological Properties in Human Milk of Obese Mothers.Nutrients · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeInterleukin-7 (IL-7) is known to be important for lymphocyte development. We sought to investigate the maternal breast milk IL-7 expression to explore its impact on thymus development in infants.
methodsWe conducted a prospective study on three groups of healthy infants classified into exclusively breast-fed (n = 19), formula-fed (n = 17) and mixed-fed (n = 19) infants. They were investigated at 2, 4 and 6 months of age for thymic indices by ultrasonography, T lymphocyte subsets enumeration by flowcytometry and breast milk IL-7 levels.
resultsThymic indices were higher at the age of 2 and 6 months in the exclusively breast-fed infants (mean ± SD 22.4 ± 2.1, 26.2 ± 2.7 mm
conclusionBreast milk and/or its IL-7 content have a significant positive impact on thymic development. Our conclusions are limited by the sample size and short duration of follow-up. What is known is that breast milk has a trophic role in thymic development and contains IL-7. What is new is that there is positive correlation between breast milk IL-7 concentration and thymic development and lymphocyte output; variation of IL-7 levels with type of feeding (exclusive breast feeding/mixed breast and formula feeding) and with time postnatally.
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Registered trials
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