TY - JOUR
T1 - Breastmilk erythropoietin and mother-to-child HIV transmission through breastmilk
AU - Miller, Melissa
AU - Iliff, Peter
AU - Stoltzfus, Rebecca J.
AU - Humphrey, Jean
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was done by the Center for Human Nutrition and the Sight and Life Institute in the Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD, under cooperative agreement number HRN-A-00–97–00015–00 between Johns Hopkins University and the Office of Health and Nutrition, US Agency for International Development, Washington DC, and a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle WA. The ZVITAMBO trial and its relevant substudies, which in part led to this hypothesis, was done in collaboration with the University of Zimbabwe and the Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, and received financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Linkages Project of the Academy for Educational Development, Washington DC, and the Nestle Foundation, Lausanne, Switzerland.
PY - 2002/10/19
Y1 - 2002/10/19
N2 - A third to a half the 1.5 million HIV-positive children in the world today acquired their infection via breastfeeding. However, what protects the 85% of breastfed babies of HIV-infected mothers who do not become infected? We postulate that erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone in human milk, has a role in the prevention of HIV transmission during breastfeeding. EPO might maintain mammary epithelium integrity, thereby reducing viral loads in milk, or maintain intestinal epithelial integrity in the breastfed neonate, and thus preventing ingested milk-borne virus being infective. This hypothesis could be tested by administration of recombinant human EPO parenterally to HIV-infected mothers or enterally to breastfed babies, or both, and assessment of the effect on mammary permeability, viral load in milk, and intestinal permeability in babies. If our hypothesis is correct, EPO treatment for mother or baby, or both might help prevent transmission of HIV.
AB - A third to a half the 1.5 million HIV-positive children in the world today acquired their infection via breastfeeding. However, what protects the 85% of breastfed babies of HIV-infected mothers who do not become infected? We postulate that erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone in human milk, has a role in the prevention of HIV transmission during breastfeeding. EPO might maintain mammary epithelium integrity, thereby reducing viral loads in milk, or maintain intestinal epithelial integrity in the breastfed neonate, and thus preventing ingested milk-borne virus being infective. This hypothesis could be tested by administration of recombinant human EPO parenterally to HIV-infected mothers or enterally to breastfed babies, or both, and assessment of the effect on mammary permeability, viral load in milk, and intestinal permeability in babies. If our hypothesis is correct, EPO treatment for mother or baby, or both might help prevent transmission of HIV.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11277-3
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11277-3
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 12401271
AN - SCOPUS:0037136925
SN - 0140-6736
VL - 360
SP - 1246
EP - 1248
JO - Lancet
JF - Lancet
IS - 9341
ER -