Cells of Human Breast Milk

Overview

Journal Cell Mol Biol Lett

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2017 Jul 19

PMID 28717367

Citations 99

Authors

Malgorzata Witkowska-Zimny

Ewa Kaminska-El-Hassan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Human milk is a complex fluid that has developed to satisfy the nutritional requirements of infants. In addition to proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other biologically active components, breast milk contains a diverse microbiome that is presumed to colonize the infant gastrointestinal tract and a heterogeneous population of cells with unclear physiological roles and health implications. Noteworthy cellular components of breast milk include progenitor/stem cells. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of breast milk cells, including leukocytes, epithelial cells, stem cells and potentially probiotic bacteria.

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