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Updated: May 9, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from Human Breast Milk for Use in an Antibody-dependent Cellular Phagocytosis Assay of HIV Targets
Published on: September 6, 2019
Human milk galectin-3 binding protein and breast-feeding-associated HIV transmission
Christina S Chan1, Hae-Young Kim, Chloe Autran
1From the *Divisions of Neonatology and Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, CA; †Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY; ‡Lusaka District Health Management Team; §University Teaching Hospital, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; ¶Center for International Health & Development, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA; and ‖Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Abstract:
Analysis of milk from 247 HIV-infected Zambian mothers showed that galectin-3 binding protein concentrations were significantly higher among HIV-infected mothers who transmitted HIV through breast-feeding (6.51 ± 2.12 μg/mL) than among nontransmitters but were also correlated with higher milk and plasma HIV RNA copies/mL and lower CD4+ cell counts. The association between galectin-3 binding protein and postnatal transmission was attenuated after adjustment for milk and plasma HIV load and CD4+ cell counts. This suggests that although milk galectin-3 binding protein is a marker of advanced maternal disease, it does not independently modify transmission risk.
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