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Effect of Maternal Smoking on Breast Milk Interleukin-1, β-Endorphin, and Leptin Concentrations

Vincenzo Zanardo,¹ Silvia Nicolussi,¹ Stefania Cavallin,¹ Daniele Trevisanuto,¹ Angelo Barbato,¹ Diego Faggian,² Flaviano Favaro,² and Mario Plebani²

¹Department of Pediatrics and ²Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Padua University School of Medicine, Padua, Italy

Abstract
Tobacco smoke is immunotoxic, but the effect of smoking on the immunologic function of the mammary gland of mothers who smoke cigarettes (“smoker mothers”) has not been studied. Our objective was to test, in smoker mothers, the colostral and transitional milk concentrations of interleukin-(IL) 1. The immunomodulators β-endorphin and leptin were also tested. Pregnant women who self-identified as smokers (≥ 5 cigarettes per day through pregnancy) or nonsmokers were recruited for study participation. The study population included 42 smoker and 40 nonsmoker nursing mothers, with otherwise uncomplicated gestation, delivery, and puerperium, who were breast-feeding ad libitum their healthy neonates. Colostrum was obtained on the third postpartum day at 0900 hr and transitional milk on the 10th postpartum day at 0900 hr. IL-1concentrations were significantly reduced in the colostrum of smoker mothers compared with nonsmoker mothers (p < 0.01) . Colostral β-endorphin and leptin concentrations were comparable. No significant differences were found between smoker and nonsmoker lactating mothers in transitional milk concentrations of IL-1, β-endorphin, and leptin. Moreover, β-endorphin and leptin concentrations were significantly reduced in transitional milk samples compared with colostrum of both smoker and nonsmoker mothers (p < 0.05) ; also, IL-1 transitional milk concentrations were reduced compared with colostrum, but without any significance. This analysis shows that maternal smoking alters the colostral milk levels of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1. The altered postnatal provision of alternative source of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 adds understanding to how breast-feeding could be nonprotective against infections among the neonates nursed by smoker mothers. Key words: β-endorphin, cigarette smoke, colostrum, interleukin-1, leptin, maternal smoking, transitional milk. Environ Health Perspect 113: 1410-1413 (2005) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7702 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 15 June 2005]

Address correspondence to V. Zanardo, Department of Pediatrics, Padua University School of Medicine, Via Giustiniani 3, 35128 Padua, Italy. Telephone: 049-8213505. Fax: 049-8213509. E-mail: zanardo@pediatria.unipd.it

We thank M. Mead and F. Cavallin for their contributions to this article.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 29 October 2004 ; accepted 14 June 2005.

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