New potential applications of breast milk stem cells discovered!
According to a study that will be presented at the X International Breastfeeding Symposium promoted by Medela.
Mother cells from breast milk could survive in the baby's gastrointestinal tract for years, be transferred to the bloodstream and, in vivo, integrate into different tissues, favoring the future development of different organs and boosting early child development.
This is one of the main conclusions drawn from the study on rats led by doctor Foteini Hassiotou, researcher at the Hartmann Group of Research into Breastfeeding from Western Australia University. Hassiotou also advances possible applications of stem cells in therapies applicable to the field of oncology and neurodegenerative diseases. The work will be presented at the X International Breastfeeding Symposium promoted by Medela, which will take place in Warsaw (Poland) on the 17th and 18th of April.
Very little is known about the origin of all the cells present in breast milk, their properties or what factors influence them. Until now, most studies carried out on the composition of breast milk had been focused from an immunological perspective, leading to the generalization of the idea that leukocytes, related to the immunological nature of breast milk, were the predominant cell type. Hassiotou expanded this perspective to a multidimensional approach, studying the in vitro and in vivo properties of these stem cells and their potential applications.
Breast milk stem cells are very moldable and can convert into cells of other types
But what led doctor Foteini Hassiotou to expand the scope of the study? A baby born late takes between 430 and 1,300 ml of breast milk daily. Each milliliter of human breast milk contains approximately between 10,000 and 13 million cells, meaning the baby can ingest billions of cells each day. According to recent studies, when mother and baby are healthy, less than 2% of these cells present in colostrum are leukocytes. Breast milk has the ability to adapt to the needs of the child or mother, increasing the volume of this type of cells to stimulate the child's immune system in the event, for example, of an infection. After the baby recovers, they return to the initial low level. Furthermore, the cellular composition of breast milk is influenced by other factors, such as the baby's diet or the health status of the mother and child.
Based on this premise, the majority of cells present in breast milk are of non-immune origin, but what type of cells are they? And, above all, what functions do they perform?
Thanks to the incorporation of the latest technologies in the field of flow cytometry, it has been demonstrated that the majority of cells present in mature human breast milk are epithelial, such as lactocites, the milk-producing cells in the alveoli, or myoepithelial, responsible for causing the release of this milk. Furthermore, mother cells and progenitor cells have also been identified and shown to increase during the lactation process, while they are scarce in the breast at rest.
In culture, some of these cells developed the known properties of mammary mother cells, becoming functional lactocites that synthesize milk. Furthermore, some types of mother cells present in breast milk appear to be very moldable and are capable of converting into different types of cells in the nervous system (neurons and glial cells), the liver (hepatocytes), the skeletal system (osteoblasts), the heart (cardiomyocytes), the pancreas and adipose tissue (adipocytes), among others.
Promote the development of organs such as the brain, liver or thymus
Doctor Hassiotou used a species of rat to confirm the distribution of these mother cells from breast milk in different tissues and their latency in newborns.
Using different techniques, Hassiotou demonstrated that the mother cells present in breast milk survive in the newborn's gastrointestinal tract and pass into the bloodstream and, in vivo, integrate into different tissues, favoring the development of organs such as the brain, liver, pancreas, thymus or spleen. In fact, the presence of some of these cells persists in the blood after the breastfeeding period has ended.
Potential applications in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer
Breast milk stem cells reflect the cellular state of the breast epithelium and are an important source of information to examine the normal biology of the breast and its possible deviations, such as breastfeeding pathologies – insufficient milk or excess milk – and breast cancer. Accessing the breast epithelium can be very complicated, but disposing of the stem cells present in breast milk is easy, as it can be done using minimally invasive methods and does not generate any ethical problems.
The regenerative virtues of breast milk stem cells could have important applications in the field of oncology and neurosciences. Thus, by comparing stem cells from breast milk with those from a cancerous breast, researchers observed an unbalanced expression of stem cell genes in aggressive breast cancers, which could open new avenues to explain the origin of these tumors.
Another application of breast milk stem cells could be in the field of regenerative medicine. Cell replacement therapies are being intensively investigated with the hope of finding new therapeutic options for multiple diseases. These therapies consist of transplanting stem cells into weakened tissue to regenerate it and regain its functionality. For example, in the case of individuals who have Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, cell transplantation will replace neurons damaged by the disease, which could provide them with therapeutic benefits. Preliminary results are hopeful. Two out of three patients who participated in a recent clinical trial evaluating the effect of injecting neural stem cells allowed them to gain sensory function.
To the breast milk mother cells they can be excellent candidates for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and in other areas of regenerative medicine, not only because of their plasticity, but because they can be accessed ethically and because research indicates that they are non-tumorous.