The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 149, Issue 5, Supplement , Pages S62-S63, November 2006

Folate and vitamin B12 transport systems in the developing infant

Presented as part of a symposium recognizing the 25th anniversary of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Freedom to Discover Nutrition Grants Program, held June 7-8, 2005, at the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.

  • Irwin H. Rosenberg, MD

      Affiliations

    • Dr Rosenberg was a recipient of a Bristol-Myers Squibb–Mead Johnson Unrestricted Nutrition Research Grant. Mead Johnson sponsored the symposium and provided an honorarium for conference attendance, presentation of the paper, and submission of a manuscript. The authors are entirely and exclusively responsible for its content.
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Irwin H. Rosenberg, MD, Jean Mayer USDA, HNRCA, Tufts University, 711 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
    • ,
  • Jacob Selhub, PhD

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA

Received 14 April 2006; accepted 1 June 2006.

B vitamin transport systems in infants are not as well studied as those for amino acids and glucose. For most B vitamins, a 2-step process allows for digestion of coenzyme forms of the vitamins in food, followed by specific transport systems for the free vitamin in the intestine. Folate and vitamin B12 have specific binding proteins, which carry the vitamins in human milk and blood, and other unique binding proteins, which convey the vitamins across the placenta, intestine, and blood-brain barrier. The permeable infant intestine permits the efficient intact transfer of protein-bound folate and vitamin B12 from intestinal lumen to bloodstream. As the intestine matures, specific carriers and receptors facilitate uptake and transport of these vitamins.

Abbreviations: ATP, Adenosine triphosphate, DRI, Dietary reference intakes, FAD, Flavin adenine dinucleotide, FBP, Folate-binding protein, FMN, Flavin adenine mononucleotide, NAD, Nicotine adenine dinucleotide, NADP, Nicotine adenine dinucleotide phosphate

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PII: S0022-3476(06)00613-5

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2006.06.053

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 149, Issue 5, Supplement , Pages S62-S63, November 2006

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