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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from Human Breast Milk for Use in an Antibody-dependent Cellular Phagocytosis Assay of HIV Targets
08:12

Isolation of Leukocytes from Human Breast Milk for Use in an Antibody-dependent Cellular Phagocytosis Assay of HIV Targets

Published on: September 6, 2019

Antiviral activity of purified human breast milk mucin

Habtom H Habte1, Girish J Kotwal, Zoë E Lotz

  • 1Department of Surgery, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Neonatology
|March 16, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Human breast milk contains mucin (MUC1) that effectively inhibits poxviruses. This finding suggests potential for MUC1 to block other enveloped viruses, like HIV, from infecting host cells.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Virology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Human breast milk possesses bioactive components crucial for infant protection against pathogens.
  • Mucins, a class of glycoproteins, are known for their protective roles in mucosal tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To isolate and characterize human milk mucin.
  • To evaluate the anti-poxvirus activity of purified human milk mucin.

Main Methods:

  • Purification using Sepharose CL-4B gel filtration and cesium chloride density-gradient centrifugation.
  • Characterization via SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and amino acid analysis.
  • Inhibition assay to determine anti-poxvirus activity.

Main Results:

  • Human milk mucin was successfully purified and identified as likely MUC1.
  • The purified MUC1 demonstrated 100% inhibition of poxvirus activity at a concentration of 2.4 million PFU/ml.
  • Evidence suggests MUC1 aggregates poxviruses, preventing host cell entry.

Conclusions:

  • Human milk MUC1 exhibits potent anti-poxvirus activity.
  • MUC1's mechanism involves viral aggregation, suggesting broader antiviral potential.
  • This mucin may inhibit other enveloped viruses, including HIV, from entering host cells.

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