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. 2015 Aug 10:5:12933.
doi: 10.1038/srep12933.

Gene expression in breastmilk cells is associated with maternal and infant characteristics

Alecia-Jane Twigger  1 , Anna R Hepworth  1 , Ching Tat Lai  1 , Ellen Chetwynd  2 , Alison M Stuebe  2 , Pilar Blancafort  3 , Peter E Hartmann  1 , Donna T Geddes  1 , Foteini Kakulas  1
Affiliations

Gene expression in breastmilk cells is associated with maternal and infant characteristics

Alecia-Jane Twigger et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Breastmilk is a rich source of cells with a heterogeneous composition comprising early-stage stem cells, progenitors and more differentiated cells. The gene expression profiles of these cells and their associations with characteristics of the breastfeeding mother and infant are poorly understood. This study investigated factors associated with the cellular dynamics of breastmilk and explored variations amongst women. Genes representing different breastmilk cell populations including mammary epithelial and myoepithelial cells, progenitors, and multi-lineage stem cells showed great variation in expression. Stem cell markers ESRRB and CK5, myoepithelial marker CK14, and lactocyte marker α-lactalbumin were amongst the genes most highly expressed across all samples tested. Genes exerting similar functions, such as either stem cell regulation or milk production, were found to be closely associated. Infant gestational age at delivery and changes in maternal bra cup size between pre-pregnancy and postpartum lactation were associated with expression of genes controlling stemness as well as milk synthesis. Additional correlations were found between genes and dyad characteristics, which may explain abnormalities related to low breastmilk supply or preterm birth. Our findings highlight the heterogeneity of breastmilk cell content and its changes associated with characteristics of the breastfeeding dyad that may reflect changing infant needs.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Distributions of gene expression (RQ) amongst breastmilk cells (•) and reference cell line values [fibroblasts (♦), human embryonic stem cells (hESCs, Δ), OCT4 transfected breast cells (OTBCs, •) and human mammary epithelial cells (HUMECs, ■)]. Box plots represent breastmilk cell distributions where tails show the minimum and maximum values (excluding outliers) and upper and lower interquartile ranges; middle line represents the median. (b) Stained lactating breast tissue sections for OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, CD49f, CK5, NESTIN, EPCAM, α-LA, ESRRB, KLF4 and REX1.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Graphical representation of gene associations found amongst breastmilk samples using sparse principle components.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Scatterplots and boxplots for significantly associated linear and dichotomous characteristics and specific genes.
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