Immunity and formula feeding
Breast-fed infants appear to be less prone to infections and allergic reactions than those fed formula, suggesting that diet may influence neonatal immune system development. However, more than 70% of infants are fed some type of infant formula during early growth and development. There has been a great deal of research attempting to mimic biologic actions of breast milk on immune development using infant formula. However, a detailed analysis of the immune status, particularly neonatal immune system development of breast-fed versus formula-fed infants, is lacking. The other aspect of my research is to delineate the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the early dietary intervention on the development of neonatal immunity. Dr. Nagarajan’s research is to delineate the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the early dietary intervention on the development of neonatal immunity. Dr. Nagarajan also directs the Immunology Core at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center.
Diet and inflammation
Epidemiological studies have shown lower incidence of cardiovascular disease in Asia than in Western countries. These studies have suggested that consumption of a traditional Asian diet high in soy and rice may play a key role in prevention of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis. Using an atherosclerosis prone mouse model, we have shown that atherosclerotic lesions were reduced in mice fed the soy-based diet despite unchanged serum lipid levels. These studies suggest that dietary soy can reduce atherosclerotic lesion development by mechanism(s) other than lowering serum cholesterol levels. However, the mechanism(s) and component(s) of soy responsible for these effects remain unknown. As inflammatory cells and lymphocytes play a pivotal role in the progression of atherosclerosis, Dr. Nagarajan’s laboratory is studying whether the atheroprotective effect of diets such as soy and rice is by regulating the immune response by inflammatory cells and lymphocytes. Further we are also testing the hypothesis that the anti-inflammatory effect of soy or rice contributes in reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.
