Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Background: Human milk is the first food of newborns. Besides nutrients, human milk contains non-nutritional components to help children grow. One non-nutritional component is called milk-derived extracellular vesicles, or MEVs. These tiny fat droplets carry material that spread to baby organs. One of the organs they reach is the liver. Once MEVs get into the organs, they release their cargo. MEV cargo can change baby metabolism during early life and beyond.Problem: Children born to mothers with obesity have increased health risks, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, also called NAFLD. NAFLD is the most common liver disease in children. A protein called SIRT1 helps reduce fat buildup and inflammation in the liver by controlling the activity of protective and harmful proteins.Objective: This study will determine if MEVs prevent NAFLD in young rats born to mothers with obesity. I hypothesize that MEVs will increase the levels of protective proteins like SIRT1 and antioxidants and reduce the levels of harmful proteins. Methods: Rats born to mothers with obesity will be treated with MEVs twice daily. Then their liver will be analyzed to see how proteins related to NAFLD have changed due to the MEV treatment. These results will be compared to rats who did not receive MEVs. They will also be compared to rats who were born to healthy mothers. In addition, livers will be viewed with a microscope to see how liver fat droplets behave with treatment.Significance: This research could show that MEVs reduce the risk of NAFLD. This provides more support for the benefits of MEVs and may lead to the supplementation of formula with MEVs. The results could also influence recommendations for the length a baby should be breastfed for.