Title:Stem Cells in Mammary Health and Milk Production
Volume: 17
Issue: 3
Author(s): Ratan K . Choudhary and Feng-Qi Zhao*
Affiliation:
- Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
Keywords:
Bovine, gland health, stem cells, production potential, SACKs, xanthosine.
Abstract: Adult stem cells like mammary and mesenchymal stem cells have received significant attention
because these stem cells possess therapeutic potential in treating many animal diseases. These
cells can be administered in an autologous or allogenic fashion, either freshly isolated from the
donor tissue or previously cultured and expanded in vitro. The expansion of adult stem cells is a prerequisite
before therapeutic application because sufficient numbers are required in dosage calculation.
Stem cells directly and indirectly (by secreting various growth factors and angiogenic factors
called secretome) act to repair and regenerate injured tissues. Recent studies on mammary stem
cells showed in vivo and in vitro expansion ability by removing the blockage of asymmetrical cell
division. Compounds like purine analogs (xanthosine, xanthine, and inosine) or hormones (progesterone
and bST) help increase stem cell population by promoting cell division. Such methodology
of enhancing stem cell number, either in vivo or in vitro, may help in preclinical studies for translational
research like treating diseases such as mastitis. The application of mesenchymal stem cells
has also been shown to benefit mammary gland health due to the ‘homing’ property of stem cells.
In addition to that, the multiple positive effects of stem cell secretome are on mammary tissue; healing
and killing bacteria is novel in the production of quality milk. This systematic review discusses
some of the studies on stem cells that have been useful in increasing the stem cell population and
increasing mammary stem/progenitor cells. Finally, we provide insights into how enhancing mammary
stem cell population could potentially increase terminally differentiated cells, ultimately leading
to more milk production.