Human Breast Milk Enhances Cellular Proliferation in Cornea Wound Healing

Corneal epithelial defects from trauma or surgery heal as new epithelial cells grow centripetally from the limbus and replenish the epithelium. Corneal wound healing requires cell signalling molecules. However, a topical treatment with these components is not available. Human breast milk (HBM) offers a potential, novel treatment as it contains bioactive molecules important in epithelial cell healing. This study seeks to investigate the potential of HBM in cornea wound healing.

Balb/c mice, 8-12 weeks old, were anesthetized prior to creating a 2 mm central cornea epithelial defect. Mice were randomly assigned to a treatment group: HBM, ophthalmic ointment containing neomycin, polymyxin B, dexamethasone (RxTx), or saline and treated 4x/day for 2 days. Wound area was quantified by fluorescein and ImageJ at 0, 8, 24, and 48 h post wounding and eyes used for histology, RT-qPCR, and ELISA.

Wounded corneas treated with HBM demonstrated increased re-epithelialization at 8 h post injury compared to saline treatments. ELISA showed significantly higher Ki67 in HBM treated eyes vs. saline control at 8 h (p = 0.0278). Additionally, immunohistology revealed more Ki67 positive cells in the HBM group compared to saline at 8 h and 24 h (p = 0.0063 8 h; p = 0.0007 24 h). For inflammatory analysis, HBM group IL-1β levels were similar to the saline group, and higher than RxTx treated eyes (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemical staining for CD11b (macrophage marker) revealed HBM-treated eyes had significantly more positive cells vs. saline. RT-qPCR of limbal stem cell markers (LESCs) revealed upregulation of Integrin αV at 8 h with HBM vs. saline.

HBM treatment on corneas with debridement of epithelium demonstrated improved healing, cellular proliferation, and upregulation of the LESC gene transcript, integrin αV, after wounding. Future studies could investigate LESC response to different signalling molecules in HBM to better understand the efficacy of this potential therapy.