Buttermilk: an important source of lipid soluble forms of choline that influences the immune system development in Sprague–Dawley rat offspring

Purpose To determine the effect of feeding buttermilk-derived choline metabolites on the immune system development in Sprague–Dawley rat pups. Methods Sprague–Dawley dams were randomized to one of the three diets containing 1.7 g/kg choline: 1-Control (100% free choline (FC)), 2-Buttermilk (BM, 37% phosphatidylcholine (PC), 34% sphingomyelin (SM), 17% glycerophosphocholine (GPC), 7% FC, 5% phosphocholine), and 3-Placebo (PB, 50% PC, 25% FC, 25% GPC) until the end of the lactation period. At weaning, pups continued on the same diet as their mom. Cell phenotypes and cytokine production by mitogen-stimulated splenocytes isolated from 3- and 10-week-old pups were measured. Results At 3 weeks, BM-pups had a higher proportion of cytotoxic T cells (CTL; CD3 + CD8 +) while both BM- and PB-pups had an increased proportion of cells expressing CD28 + , CD86 + and CD27 + (all p > 0.05). Following ConA stimulation, splenocytes from BM- and PB-pups produced more TNF-α and IFN-γ and after LPS stimulation produced more IL-10 and TNF-α (all p > 0.05). Starting at week 6 of age, BM-pups had a higher body weight. At 10 weeks, both the BM- and PB-pups had a higher proportion of CTL expressing CD27 + . After ConA stimulation, splenocytes from BM- and PB-pups produced more IL-2, IFN-γ and IL-6 and more IL-10 after LPS stimulation (all p > 0.05). Conclusion The proportion of lipid soluble forms of choline in the diet during lactation and weaning periods influence the immune system development in rat offspring.