RNA-sequencing of the human milk fat layer during colostrum, transitional, and mature stages of lactation

ABSTRACT: Human milk fat globules, by enveloping cell contents during their secretion into milk, are a rich source of mammary cell RNA. Here, we pair this non-invasive mRNA source with RNA sequencing technology to probe the milk fat layer transcriptome during three stages of lactation: colostral, transitional, and mature milk production. We find that transcriptional profiles cluster not by postpartum day, but by milk Na:K ratio, indicating that women sampled during the same postpartum time frame could be at markedly different stages of gene expression. Each stage of lactation is characterized by a dynamic range (105-fold) in transcript abundances not previously observed with microarray technology. We discovered that transcripts for isoferritins and cathepsins are strikingly abundant during colostrum

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Danielle Lemay 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-45669 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress