@article{Fanos_Reali_Marcialis_Bardanzellu_2018, place={Quartu Sant’Elena (CA, Italy)}, title={What you have to know about Human Milk Oligosaccharides}, volume={7}, url={https://jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/070137}, DOI={10.7363/070137}, abstractNote={<p>Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs), the third most important solid components of BM (the first and the second being lactose and lipids respectively), are a highly variable family of unconjugated glycans related to many pathophysiological short- and long-term effects on infants and, as recently demonstrated, even on the mother.</p><p>Among their functions are promotion and modulation of gut microbiota, effects on intestinal mucosa and its development, protection against intestinal or extra-intestinal infections, modulation of several immune responses and even extra-intestinal effects, such as brain development, as described in literature.</p><p>Regarding HMOs composition, it appears that maternal genetic factors play the major role in conferring its high and peculiar inter- and intra-individual variability to BM. <br />HMOs greatly depend on four maternal phenotypes, defined depending on the expression of two specific genes and maternal blood group. The α-1-2-fucosyltransferase (FUT2) gene, expressed in more than 70% of Caucasian women, is codified by the Se gene and allows classification of secretor (Se+) and non-secretor (Se-) mothers. In addition, the α-1-3-4-fucosyltransferase (FUT3) gene indicates positivity or negativity for the Lewis Group (Le+ or Le-).</p><p>Even other environmental and maternal factors, represented by age, diet, health status, medication and drugs appear to play a role in HMOs composi­tion.</p>}, number={1}, journal={Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine (JPNIM)}, author={Fanos, Vassilios and Reali, Alessandra and Marcialis, Maria Antonietta and Bardanzellu, Flaminia}, year={2018}, month={Apr.}, pages={e070137} }