The stem cell potential of bovine milk: a comparative study of colostrum and mature milk

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely utilized in regenerative medicine owing to their differentiation potential and paracrine effects. Although numerous tissues have been identified as sources of MSCs, the search for novel, noninvasive sources continues. To date, the stem cell content of colostrum has not been investigated. To address this gap, this study aimed to comparatively evaluate the biological properties, proliferative dynamics, and functional potential of cell populations derived from colostrum and mature milk. Cells isolated from both sources (n = 3) were morphologically assessed under in vitro culture conditions and were induced to undergo multilineage differentiation. Phenotypic characterization was performed by flow cytometric analysis. Proliferation capacity was assessed by determining population doubling time (PDT) and performing colony formation assays, while cell viability was evaluated using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Cells initially exhibited an epithelial-like morphology and adopted a fibroblast-like phenotype after passaging. Colostrum-derived and mature milk-derived cells displayed multilineage differentiation potential, and flow cytometric profiling confirmed the presence of cells positive for CD73, CD90, and CD105 in both sources. Colostrum-derived cells exhibited higher cell densities; however, population doubling times showed no statistically significant difference between the groups. MTT analysis demonstrated a progressive increase in metabolic activity in both groups, with colostrum-derived cells exhibiting significantly higher optical density values from day 2 onward. No statistically significant difference in colony-forming efficiency was observed between the groups. Consequently, these preliminary findings suggest that colostrum may harbor cell populations exhibiting MSC-like properties and could represent a potential area of interest for MSC research.