Human Milk Extracellular Vesicles: A Biological System with Clinical Implications

The consumption of human milk by a breastfeeding infant is associated with positive health outcomes, including lower risk of diarrheal disease, respiratory disease, otitis media, and in later life, less risk of chronic disease. These benefits may be mediated by antibodies, glycoproteins, glycolipids, oligosaccharides, and leukocytes. More recently, human milk extracellular vesicles (hMEVs) have been identified. HMEVs contain functional cargos, i.e., miRNAs and proteins, that may transmit information from the mother to promote infant growth and development. Maternal health conditions can influence hMEV composition. This review summarizes hMEV biogenesis and functional contents, reviews the functional evidence of hMEVs in the maternal-infant health relationship, and discusses challenges and opportunities in hMEV research.

Automated summary

Breastfeeding has numerous positive effects on the health of infants, including reducing the risk of diarrhea, respiratory diseases, otitis media, and chronic diseases later in life. In addition to the known components, human milk extracellular vesicles (hMEVs) containing miRNAs and proteins have been discovered to play a role in promoting infant growth and development. The composition of hMEVs can be influenced by the maternal health conditions.