Maternal Milk is more than food:
Milk contains bioactive components that shape offspring development.

human milk exosomes

Milk-derived exosomes & developmental programming

What are the molecular underpinnings and Michaelis-Menten Kinetics of milk-derived exosome uptake and localization in the brain?

human microglia with localized milk exosomes

Milk microRNAs & post-transcriptional regulation

Are milk miRNAs functional? How do milk miRNAs induce post-transcriptional regulation of host mRNA?

logo of developmental origins of health and disease

Impact of maternal obesity on lactation biology & offspring development

How does early life exposure to maternal obesity shape neurodevelopmental and neuroinflammatory trajectories in offspring?

Milk-derived exosomes are nature’s nanoplatform for intercellular delivery

Milk-derived exosomes (MDEs) are a unique subpopulation of extracellular vesicles abundant in the milk of all mammals. They are 30-150nm in size, has a protective lipid bilayer and adhesive proteins, and originate from the mammary gland epithelial cells. They carry genetic material (long and small non-coding RNAs), proteins, enzymes, and lipids and survive gastrointestinal degradation. The lipid bilayer of exosomes not only increase stability but also increase solubility. MDEs efficiently travel across complex cellular barriers, including the intestinal endothelium and the blood-brain barrier. Thus, MDEs offer superior benefits as a drug delivery platform that surpass the limitations of synthetic liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. Extensive research efforts are currently underway to utilize MDEs as scalable drug carriers.

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