A mammary gland secretion function exploratory study based on a quantitative comparison between milk and serum.

Abstract

Lactation is a complex physiological process, and the knowledge about the secretion of many milk components is limited. The objective of this study was to explore the secretory function of human mammary glands through a comparative analysis of common clinical indicators in serum and milk. Milk and serum samples were collected from lactating women simultaneously, and titers of common biochemical components were determined using an automated biochemical analyzer. The differences between the levels of serum and milk components were analyzed using statistical software. There were significant biochemical differences between the milk and serum samples. Among the 46 biochemical components in the quantitative comparison, the titers or activities of nine milk constituents were significantly higher than those in serum, while 32 milk components were significantly lower than those in serum. Five constituents had significantly correlation between milk and serum. Overall, the individual differences in milk were significantly greater than those in serum. The differences between the levels of serum and milk components were assessed definitively, and some additional characteristic secretions from the human breast were also quantified, providing much more data for further research on the secretory function of the human breast.