ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2022
Cellular and transcriptional diversity over the course of human lactation.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers.
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Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- A scalable, low-cost, sample hashing workflow for multiomic single-cell analysis using the Seq-Well SNature protocols · 2026Review
- Preserving RNA quality when freezing of human milk samples must occur before extraction: Validation of methods utilized in a multi-center cohort study.Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia · 2026Article
- The Michigan Sibling Immunity Birth Study (M-SIBS): Study design protocol for a unique food allergy birth cohort.The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. Global · 2026Article
- Dysregulated Efferocytosis and Immune Microenvironment in High Somatic Cell Count Dairy Cows.Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition · 2026Article
- Human milk: insights on cell composition, organoids and emerging applications.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Decoding the enhancer-driven regulatory network for lactoferrin across mammalian species.Zoological research · 2026Article
- Methods for Preserving Human Milk Cellular and Milk Fat Globule RNA.Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia · 2026Article
- Single-cell transcriptomics of leukocyte-enriched human milk reveals a highly diverse and adapted myeloid compartment.PloS one · 2026Article
- Functional shifts in immune composition follow lactation stage in human milk.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Impact of lactation stage, maternal age, and parity on mammary epithelial cell populations in fresh milk.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Parity Influences the Immune Profile of Human Milk via Increased T Lymphocyte Content.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Article
- Little women: the relevance and reliance on mouse models for mammary gland research and next steps for translation.Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia · 2025Review
- Breastfeeding in a Polluted World: Perspective on the Properties of Breast Milk and the Need for Protection.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- From lactation to malignancy: A comparison between healthy and cancerous breast gland at single-cell resolution reveals new issues for tumorigenesis.FEBS letters · 2025Article
- Maternal fish oil supplementation enhances nutrient transport in the placenta and milk biosynthesis in the mammary gland via the GPR120 signaling pathway.Journal of advanced research · 2025Article
- Integrated 'omics analysis reveals human milk oligosaccharide biosynthesis programs in human lactocytes.iScience · 2025Article
- Genomic characterization of normal and aberrant human milk production.Science advances · 2025Article
- Defining breast epithelial cell types in the single-cell era.Developmental cell · 2025Review
- Mammary intraepithelial lymphocytes and intestinal inputs shape T cell dynamics in lactogenesis.Nature immunology · 2025Article
- Proteomic analysis of Buffalo milk somatic cells reveals metabolomic and immunological transitions during early lactation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Human breast milk (hBM) is a dynamic fluid that contains millions of cells, but their identities and phenotypic properties are poorly understood. We generated and analyzed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to characterize the transcriptomes of cells from hBM across lactational time from 3 to 632 d postpartum in 15 donors. We found that the majority of cells in hBM are lactocytes, a specialized epithelial subset, and that cell-type frequencies shift over the course of lactation, yielding greater epithelial diversity at later points. Analysis of lactocytes reveals a continuum of cell states characterized by transcriptional changes in hormone-, growth factor-, and milk production-related pathways. Generalized additive models suggest that one subcluster, LC1 epithelial cells, increases as a function of time postpartum, daycare attendance, and the use of hormonal birth control. We identify several subclusters of macrophages in hBM that are enriched for tolerogenic functions, possibly playing a role in protecting the mammary gland during lactation. Our description of the cellular components of breast milk, their association with maternal–infant dyad metadata, and our quantification of alterations at the gene and pathway levels provide a detailed longitudinal picture of hBM cells across lactational time. This work paves the way for future investigations of how a potential division of cellular labor and differential hormone regulation might be leveraged therapeutically to support healthy lactation and potentially aid in milk production.
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