Abstract
BackgroundMilk is a complex liquid that provides nutrition to newborns. Recent reports demonstrated that milk is enriched in maternal-derived exosomes that are involved in fetal physiological and pathological conditions by transmission of exosomal mRNAs, miRNAs and proteins. Until now, there is no such research relevant to exosomal mRNAs and proteins in porcine milk, therefore, we have attempted to investigate porcine milk exosomal mRNAs and proteins using RNA-sequencing and proteomic analysis.ResultsA total of 16,304 (13,895 known and 2,409 novel mRNAs) mRNAs and 639 (571 known, 66 candidate and 2 putative proteins) proteins were identified. GO and KEGG annotation indicated that most proteins were located in the cytoplasm and participated in many immunity and disease-related pathways, and some mRNAs were closely related to metabolisms, degradation and signaling pathways. Interestingly, 19 categories of proteins were tissue-specific and detected in placenta, liver, milk, plasma and mammary. COG analysis divided the identified mRNAs and proteins into 6 and 23 categories, respectively, 18 mRNAs and 10 proteins appeared to be involved in cell cycle control, cell division and chromosome partitioning. Additionally, 14 selected mRNAs were identified by qPCR, meanwhile, 10 proteins related to immunity and cell proliferation were detected by Western blot.ConclusionsThese results provide the first insight into porcine milk exosomal mRNA and proteins, and will facilitate further research into the physiological significance of milk exosomes for infants.
Highlights
Milk is a complex liquid that provides nutrition to newborns
Breast milk contains a potent mixture of diverse components including milk fat globules (MFG), immune competent cells, antibodies, soluble proteins, cytokines, and antimicrobial peptides [2] that together protect young infants against infections [3]
We extracted total RNA from the pellets after ultracentrifugation and examined the RNA by Agilent 2100, and the results showed that the porcine milk exosome contained RNAs and small Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) (Fig. 1c), which is consistent with
Summary
Recent reports demonstrated that milk is enriched in maternal-derived exosomes that are involved in fetal physiological and pathological conditions by transmission of exosomal mRNAs, miRNAs and proteins. Milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, and breastfeeding is known to make a valuable contribution to infant health [1]. Milk-derived exosomes have been reported in humans, cows and pigs [14,15,16,17] and which involved in many biological processes. Recent studies revealed that human [18], bovine [19], pig [20], and rat [21] milk contain miRNAs, and mRNAs have been identified in
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
