Infants and children need to absorb minerals such as calcium from their diet to build strong bones during growth and development. Babies born prematurely are at risk of low bone mineralization.
“This study provides key knowledge of how infants meet their high calcium requirements to enable growth, and how a factor in breast milk helps increase calcium absorption,” said R. Todd Alexander, Ph.D., the first author of the study.
“These findings contribute a molecular understanding that could be potentially manipulated to improve bone health.”
More information:
Megan R Beggs et al, Maternal Epidermal Growth Factor Promotes Neonatal Claudin-2 Dependent Increases in Small Intestinal Calcium Permeability, Function (2023). DOI: 10.1093/function/zqad033
Citation:
Key protein helps infant mice absorb more calcium from breast milk (2023, July 25)
retrieved 25 July 2023
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-key-protein-infant-mice-absorb.html
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