Base by Base explores advances in genetics and genomics, with a focus on gene-disease associations, variant interpretation, protein structure, and insights from exome and genome sequencing. Each episode breaks down key studies and their clinical relevance—one base at a time.
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Base by Base explores advances in genetics and genomics, with a focus on gene-disease associations, variant interpretation, protein structure, and insights from exome and genome sequencing. Each episode breaks down key studies and their clinical relevance—one base at a time.
Powered by AI, Base by Base offers a new way to learn on the go. Special thanks to authors who publish under CC BY 4.0, making open-access science faster to share and easier to explore.
185: Altered Milk Tryptophan in Women Living with HIV
Base by Base
14 minutes 59 seconds
1 week ago
185: Altered Milk Tryptophan in Women Living with HIV
️ Episode 185: Altered Milk Tryptophan in Women Living with HIV
In this episode of PaperCast Base by Base, we explore a longitudinal metabolomics study of human milk that reveals how maternal HIV infection reshapes tryptophan metabolism across lactation, with potential implications for infant immunity, growth, and neurodevelopment.
Study Highlights:The authors profiled the milk metabolome from hundreds of mothers over the first 18 months postpartum and found a robust, sustained decrease in milk tryptophan alongside higher kynurenine and an elevated kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio in women living with HIV. Targeted quantification at four months confirmed lower tryptophan and higher kynurenine in milk, and paired plasma analyses mirrored these shifts, indicating systemic depletion rather than altered transfer into milk. An initially unknown metabolite was identified as 3’-deoxy-3’,4’-didehydro-cytidine (ddhC), the free base of an interferon‑inducible antiviral ribonucleotide, and cytosine and dimethylarginine were also elevated, consistent with interferon-driven inflammation. A validation cohort of treated women showed concordant directions of effect and a higher KT ratio, supporting generalizability of the signature beyond the primary cohort.
Conclusion:Milk tryptophan depletion and interferon‑linked metabolic remodeling in mothers with HIV may contribute to adverse outcomes in HIV‑exposed, uninfected infants and point to testable interventions targeting the kynurenine pathway.
Reference:Tobin NH, Li F, Zhu W, Ferbas KG, Sleasman JW, Raftery D, Kuhn L, Aldrovandi GM. Altered milk tryptophan and tryptophan metabolites in women living with HIV. Nature Communications. 2025;16:9437. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64566-w
License:This episode is based on an open-access article published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Base by Base
Base by Base explores advances in genetics and genomics, with a focus on gene-disease associations, variant interpretation, protein structure, and insights from exome and genome sequencing. Each episode breaks down key studies and their clinical relevance—one base at a time.
Powered by AI, Base by Base offers a new way to learn on the go. Special thanks to authors who publish under CC BY 4.0, making open-access science faster to share and easier to explore.
