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Comparative phenotypic characterization of human colostrum and breast milk-derived stem cells

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Abstract

There is a diverse population of stem cells in human breast milk that can be employed for therapeutic purposes as a reservoir of cells. The current study mainly aimed to determine the nature markers expressing on stem cells. For this aim, the expression of embryonic stem cell markers, as well as the expression of endothelial, mesenchymal, neural, and hematopoietic markers were evaluated by the flow cytometry analysis in fresh colostrum, breast milk, and cultured colostrum samples. The results showed that the embryonic (OCT4, SOX2, HLA-DR), hematopoietic (CD33, CD45, CD117), neural (CD133, Nestin), and mesenchymal (CD44, SCA1) stem cell markers present in colostrum had higher expression in comparison with their counterpart markers in fresh breast milk. The expression markers of stem cells in colostrum following a 2-week culture period were significantly increased compared with their counterpart markers in colostrum before the culture process. In the culture of breastmilk, cells were not observed adherent cells and colonies. Our findings form flow cytometry and cell culture suggest that the lactation stage could be one of the factors influencing the stem cell population and, consequently, the cultivation of breastmilk cells. The present study indicates that colostrum is a tremendous source of stem cells that could be applied in cell-based research.

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Acknowledgements

This research was granted by the Iran University of Medical Sciences (with the grant number IR.IUMS.REC; 1395/9221313202) and Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (with the grant number 94007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, East Hemmat Highway, Tehran, Iran

    Nasim Goudarzi, Ronak Shabani, Mansoure Soleimani & Fatemeh Moradi

  2. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, East Hemmat Highway, Tehran, Iran

    Nasim Goudarzi, Ronak Shabani, Mansoure Soleimani & Fatemeh Moradi

  3. Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology at Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, End of North Banihashem, West Resalat Highway, Tehran, Iran

    Marzieh Ebrahimi

  4. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, East Hemmat Highway, Tehran, Iran

    Gelareh Vahabzadeh

  5. Department of Anatomy, Scholar Medicine, University of Medical Sciences, East Hemmat Highway, Tehran, Iran

    Amir Baghestani & Ehsan Dehdashtian

  6. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Science, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Chamran Boulevard, Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan, Iran

    Majid Katebi

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  1. Nasim Goudarzi
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  8. Fatemeh Moradi
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Contributions

MF and KM participated in the conception and design of the study. GN, ME, AB, ED, and GV isolated and prepared and performed flow cytometry analysis. GN, SR, MF, and SM wrote the first draft. All authors read and revised the manuscript. Additionally, all authors confirmed the final version of the manuscript to be submitted.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Fatemeh Moradi or Majid Katebi.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have affiliations with organizations with direct or indirect financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the manuscript. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The protocol of the current study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Iran University of Medical Sciences.

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The project aims and procedures were explained to volunteers, and they were asked to sign the written consent forms before participating in the study.

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Goudarzi, N., Shabani, R., Ebrahimi, M. et al. Comparative phenotypic characterization of human colostrum and breast milk-derived stem cells. Human Cell 33, 308–317 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13577-019-00320-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13577-019-00320-x

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