Structure–Function Relationships of Human Milk Oligosaccharides on the Intestinal Epithelial Transcriptome in Caco‐2 Cells and a Murine Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

SCOPE: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating gastrointestinal emergency affecting preterm infants. Breastmilk protects against NEC, partly due to human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). HMO compositions are highly diverse, and it is unclear if anti-NEC properties are specific to carbohydrate motifs. Here, this study compares intestinal epithelial transcriptomes of five synthetic HMOs (sHMOs) and examines structure-function relationships …