Deciphering the lipid profile: A quantitative lipidomic investigation into extracellular vesicles derived from human, ewe, and goat colostrum

Abstract

Milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEV) have gained attention for the immunological benefits for infants and potential as natural drug delivery vehicles. Although protein and genetic profiling of mEV have been performed, their lipid composition has received less attention. We hypothesized that quantitative lipidomics can determine lipid composition differences between human, ewe, and goat colostrum-derived extracellular vesicles (EV). Milk-derived EV were isolated using differential ultracentrifugation and subsequently characterized via nanoparticle tracking analysis and transmission electron microscopy. A total of 1,249 lipids from 30 subclasses were in found in the 3 types of mEV, with phosphatidylserine, triglycerides, phosphatidylcholine, diacylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and cholesterol being the main lipid subclasses. Three potential lipid biomarkers, free fatty acids 18:2, 24:1, and 22:4, were found in human colostrum-derived EV. Overall, colostrum is a rich source of EV, and our study provides liposomal materials for the development of functional dairy products.