Mammary epithelium permeability during established lactation: associations with cytokine levels in human milk.

Objective: The cytokine profile of human milk may be a key indicator of mammary gland health and has been linked to infant nutrition, growth, and immune system development. The current study examines the extent to which mammary epithelium permeability (MEP) is associated with cytokine profiles during established lactation within a sample of US mothers.

Methods: Participants were drawn from a previous study of human milk cytokines.

Deciphering a proteomic signature for the early detection of breast cancer from breast milk: the role of quantitative proteomics.

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers among women in the United States. Current research regarding breast milk has been focused on the composition and its role in infant growth and development. There is little information about the proteins, immune cells, and epithelial cells present in breast milk which can be indicative of the emergence of BC cells and tumors.

Proteomics analysis of human breast milk by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) coupled with mass spectrometry to assess breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers and one of the most common causes for cancer-related mortality. Discovery of protein biomarkers associated with cancer is considered important for early diagnosis and prediction of the cancer risk. Protein biomarkers could be investigated by large-scale protein investigation or proteomics, using mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques.

Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics of Human Milk to Identify Differentially Expressed Proteins in Women with Breast Cancer versus Controls.

It is thought that accurate risk assessment and early diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) can help reduce cancer-related mortality. Proteomics analysis of breast milk may provide biomarkers of risk and occult disease. Our group works on the analysis of human milk samples from women with BC and controls to investigate alterations in protein patterns of milk that could be related to BC.

Durable antibody and effector memory T cell responses in breastmilk from women with SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Given that only 25% of pregnant women elect to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection remains an important route of conferring protective passive immunity to breastfed infants of mothers who are not vaccinated.

Methods: We enrolled 30 lactating participants between December 2020 and March 2021 who had a positive PCR-test and their first COVID-19 symptoms within the previous 21 days. Participants were asked to provide serial bilateral milk samples at 12 timepoints (~ every 3 days) over a period of 35 days.