Stem‐Like Cells in Breastmilk for Hospitalized Preterm Infants

Abstract

Breastmilk stem cells are a relatively new discovery in the scientific community. There are still many unknowns about their specific mechanisms of interaction; however, it has been hypothesized that their presence contributes to growth and development of the breastfed infant. Our research team is the first known team to enroll mothers of hospitalized preterm infants during the first few weeks of lactation and compare stem cell phenotypes and expression to mothers of healthy full‐term infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of NICU breastmilk collection and the comparison of preterm and full‐term breastmilk cells. We enrolled mothers of preterm infants (n=7; range 26 4/7 – 34 5/7 weeks gestational age at birth) and mothers of healthy full‐term infants (n=4; range 39 5/7–40 5/7 weeks gestational age at birth). Flow cytometry and qRT‐PCR analysis were used to assess the prevalence of a variety of pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cell markers. Overall, cells with stem‐like characteristics were identified in both preterm and full‐term breastmilk samples. There was large variability among the amount of each stem cell phenotype present, as well as in the expression of specific markers. Preliminary results indicate that gene expression in the majority of the tested markers were significantly different between the preterm sample and the full‐term sample. In conclusion, there are individual differences in the cellular composition of breastmilk, and this variation results in differential expression of phenotypic markers and gene expression of breastmilk cells with multipotent and pluripotent characteristics. The science of breastmilk stem cells is new and there is future potential to use these easily accessible stem cells in regenerative medicine. Future studies will explore the relationship of breastmilk stem cell characteristics to neonatal health, most notably their regenerative and protective potential.Support or Funding InformationNational Association of Neonatal Nurses and Foundation for Neonatal Research and Education