Abstract
Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is present in milk of several species, including term human milk. LPL, assumed to leak into milk from mammary cells damaged during suckling, has been implicated in the development of breast milk jaundice. Since increasing numbers of preterm infants are fed their own mother's milk, we have measured LPL (hydrolysis of serum-activated tri-3H olein, 1 unit (U)=1 nmol free fatty acid (FFA) released/ml milk/min) in milk collected for 3 months from 47 women with deliveries at 26-36 wks pregnancy. The data show that:
1. LPL increases with length of gestation and lactation. 2. “Drip” milk had twice the LPL activity of milk pumped simultaneously from the other breast, irrespective of duration of pregnancy or lactation, suggesting no relationship between cell damage and enzyme release. 3. Feeding of milk with very high LPL (>500) did not cause neonatal jaundice. We suggest that the level of LPL in milk might be related to its level in the mammary gland and that it could be an indicator of the latter's functional capacity. (Support NIH grant HD 10823 and AM 26641)
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Mehta, N., Jones, J., Hamosh, M. et al. 1162 LIPOPROTEIN LIPASE IN PRETERM HUMAN MILK. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 636 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01188
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01188
