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Updated: Feb 26, 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
Cells of human breast milk
Malgorzata Witkowska-Zimny1, Ewa Kaminska-El-Hassan1
1Department of Biophysics and Human Physiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland.
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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