Table 2 Technical benefits and limitations of milk-derived epithelial cells for mammary gland research.119,131
From: Human milk: insights on cell composition, organoids and emerging applications
Properties | Benefits | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
Cell viability | Milk-derived epithelial cells are viable, contrary to historical belief | Viability may vary between donors and across lactation stages |
In vitro culture | Cells can be maintained in vitro similar to breast tissue-derived cells | Culture conditions may need optimization for long-term proliferation and differentiation |
Transcriptional identity | Exhibit transcriptional resemblance to luminal progenitor cells, indicating relevance for developmental studies | May not fully capture the diversity of epithelial cell types found in the entire mammary gland |
Single-cell resolution | Enables identification of distinct epithelial subpopulations (e.g., two luminal secretory clusters) | Requires high-throughput and costly technologies (e.g., scRNA-seq) |
Presence of immune cells | Shared immune cell clusters observed in both milk and NMCs highlight immune-mammary interactions | May complicate epithelial cell-specific analyses unless sorted |
Non-invasive sampling | Easily accessible compared to other tissue biopsies, making longitudinal studies feasible | Cell yield and consistency may be affected by donor physiology and sample handling |
