Cow, Goat, and Mare Milk Diets Differentially Modulated the Immune System and Gut Microbiota of Mice Colonized by Healthy Infant Feces

Abstract

Studies on the possible alternative supplements to breastmilk are gaining research interests. Although milk from cow, goat, and mare is nutritious, its effects on the relationship between the immune system, metabolites, and gut microbiota remain unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the effects of cow, goat, and mare milk on the immune system, metabolites, and gut microbiota of mice colonized by healthy infant feces using human milk as a standard. We examined the serum biochemistry parameters, immunity indicators, T cells, gut microbiota abundance, and metabolites. Results showed that the impact of human milk on alanine transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, total protein, globulin, and glucose values was different from the cow, goat, and mare milk types. The effects of mare milk on the percentage of CD4⁺ T, Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells, and the levels of IL-2, IL-4, sIgA, and d-lactic acid in the serum of the human microbiota-associated mice were comparable to those of human milk. Also, bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that human milk enriched the relative abundance of <i>Akkermansia</i> and <i>Bacteroides</i>, cow milk increased the relative abundance of <i>Lactobacillus</i>, goat milk increased the relative abundance of <i>Escherichia-Shigella</i>, and mare milk improved the relative abundance of <i>Klebsiella</i>. Besides, mare milk was similar to human milk in the concentration of the metabolites we analyzed. Our findings suggest that mare milk can positively modulate the gut microbiota and immunity status of infants and thus could be a possible replacement for human milk.