Glycobiology of Human Milk
Of all mammals, human milk may be the most complicated. For example, human milk contains more than 200 different saccharide molecules, which is much higher than the average number in the milk of other mammals. Nowadays, human milk glycobiology is developing rapidly, and this field plays an important role in both infant health and market applications. Breastfeeding can greatly reduce the risk of infants suffering from intestinal diseases and other infectious diseases.
Now the biological functions of many human milk saccharides have been determined, especially sialic acid and the more complicated human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). These carbohydrates can inhibit the adhesion of pathogens to the surface receptors of their target cells, and regulate the balance of intestinal flora. Due to these indispensable functions, human milk can be reasonably regarded as an important part of the innate immune system, and breastfeeding mothers can protect their babies from diseases through this system.
The substance that plays a role in human milk involves a mixture of hundreds of glycans. These saccharides vary greatly between individuals and populations. One of the challenges is to determine the concentration of the saccharides of interest in human milk and their differences. Current and emerging research results can be translated into the actual prevention and treatment of infant diseases, as well as the development of formula milk and health products.
One-stop Solution for HMO Research
CD BioGlyco's one-stop HMO research service aims to provide clients with full process support from HMO production, separation, and analysis to functional research. The service not only covers multiple types of HMOs but also provides a variety of technical means to meet different research needs.
CD BioGlyco offers a variety of HMO production technologies, including chemical synthesis, whole-cell bioconversion (fermentation), enzyme catalysis (single-enzyme bioconversion), and combined chemical-enzymatic methods. These technologies enable the efficient synthesis of different types of HMOs, such as non-fucosylated, fucosylated, and sialylated HMOs.
Leveraging our advanced production technologies, we provide a comprehensive HMO production service to deliver specific HMOs tailored to client needs. Our services include three main types of HMO production: neutral non-fucosylated HMO, fucosylated HMO, and salivary acidified HMO. These HMOs have important biological activities in breast milk, such as fighting pathogens, regulating the intestinal flora, and promoting the development of the infant's immune system. CD BioGlyco provides customized HMO production services according to the specific needs of clients to ensure the purity and consistency of samples.
Due to the complex structure of HMOs and the existence of multiple homologous isomers, the separation of HMOs is a key step in research. CD BioGlyco provides an expert HMO separation service, utilizing advanced chromatographic techniques (e.g., preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ion-exchange chromatography) to isolate and purify specific HMOs from complex mixtures, including human milk or fermentation broths, ensuring high purity for downstream applications.
CD BioGlyco offers a variety of analytical methods, such as mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), to help clients comprehensively analyze the structure, concentration, and function of HMOs.
We offer specialized profiling for various HMO categories, including neutral fucosylated, neutral non-fucosylated, and sialylated HMOs, providing a complete glycomic fingerprint of your human milk samples.
Analysis of Sialic Acid in Human Milk
Beyond general HMO profiling, our analysis of sialic acid in human milk service provides focused and highly detailed quantification and structural elucidation of sialic acid residues within human milk. This includes free sialic acids, sialylated HMOs, and sialic acids present on milk glycoproteins and glycolipids.
Technology: Anion exchange chromatography, Size exclusion chromatography, HPLC, MS
Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry
Published: 2017
IF: 4.0
Results: Research has found that HMOs directly inhibit the growth of group B Streptococcus (GBS), and this inhibitory effect does not depend on the host's immune system. Researchers have found that non-sialylated neutral HMOs inhibit bacterial growth by interacting with specific glycosyltransferases on the surface of GBS and exhibit synergistic effects with various antibiotics.
Fig.1 HMOs inhibit GBS growth. (Lin, et al., 2017)
CD BioGlyco is a leading international biotechnology company, focusing on glycobiology research for nearly 20 years. Our platform and experts can provide strong support for customers’ projects and help customers save time and money while obtaining high-quality data.
Customers can contact our employees directly and we will respond promptly. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more detailed information.
CD BioGlyco offers several complementary services that significantly enhance research and development efforts related to the glycobiology of human milk.
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