The latest breastmilk research published today in Cell was partially funded by infant formula manufacturer Nestle and Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), with QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute immunologist Simon Phipps saying his laboratory is already in discussions with infant formula companies about using the findings to "potentially improve the quality of the infant formula".
Who Holds the Levers
The study, which was five years in the making, comes from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and an international group of researchers who found that osteopontin, a breastmilk protein, triggers a cascade of biological processes that kickstart immune system development in early life. The work was published today in the respected science journal Cell, and the researchers say it helps explain why breastfeeding has long been known to protect babies against respiratory infections.
Professor Phipps said the underlying cause had been unclear. Scientists had long known that osteopontin is found in high levels in a mother's breastmilk in the early weeks after birth, but how it influences infant health had remained a mystery. That mystery now gets translated into a research pathway that runs through labs, journals, and corporate boardrooms. The milk itself is not the only thing under scrutiny. So is the market built around it.
Phipps and colleagues compared the immune systems of baby mice fed osteopontin concentrated from cow's milk with those that were not given the protein after exposure to a respiratory tract infection. "The mice that weren't receiving the osteopontin in the milk, they had lower numbers of really important immune cells that helped defend the baby against the respiratory infection," he said. "If we supplemented the osteopontin then we could protect those baby mice from the infection."
Who Pays the Price
The hierarchy here is plain enough. The research may help shape infant formula, but the people at the bottom of the chain are babies, mothers, and families trying to make feeding decisions under pressure. Bethany Kippen, a physiotherapist who has been breastfeeding since giving birth to her first baby Billy late last month at Brisbane's Wesley Hospital, called the study "really interesting". She said, "Because I work in healthcare, I'm always looking for the most evidence-based practice, not just when I'm at work but also when it comes to making decisions for my family."
Kippen said her breastfeeding journey was initially "really tough". "But once we got into a bit of a rhythm, and once we both started to learn a little bit more about how each other worked, then it's just the most rewarding experience," she said. "It's beautiful. I don't see it as just him receiving food and nutrients. I see it as a bit of a bonding moment, too. I love it."
That personal account sits beside a system where access, support, and commercial influence shape what families can do. The study may inform improvements to infant formulas, but it also points to a world where the basic needs of infants become a site for product development and institutional funding.
What the Science Says, and Who Gets to Use It
Working together, dozens of scientists with different areas of expertise found osteopontin altered the baby mice's gut microbiomes. The microbiome is made up of different micro-organisms and develops in the digestive tract in early life. Professor Phipps said the osteopontin altered the production of bacterial metabolites — chemicals produced by bacteria — in the gut, which acted on cells, such as those lining the lungs in the infant mice, to turn on growth factors that boosted immune system development.
The study also found a drug already used to treat type 2 diabetes could mimic the effects of osteopontin by activating the same immune processes in the mice. That detail matters because it shows how quickly biological discovery gets folded into existing pharmaceutical and commercial channels. The apparatus doesn’t just observe. It looks for a use, a product, a market.
Professor Ben Desbrow of Griffith University, who was not involved in the breastfeeding study, called it "exceptional science". He said the study was limited by being done in mice, but "it does help us understand some of the fundamentals of how our body is likely to evolve and develop in the first few days, weeks, months of life in response to certain forms of nutrition that are supplied". He added, "We know that high levels of osteopontin are associated with lower severe respiratory tract infections and other conditions. We didn't understand how osteopontin might be linked with causation and that's what this work starts to unpack. We're building the picture of understanding more definitively exactly how these compounds are linked to the development of, and sustainability of, our immune system."
Desbrow said milk banks — where breastfeeding women donate their excess milk for other mothers' babies — may become increasingly important. "We know that it's challenging, and for some people, unfortunately, impossible to breastfeed, but it really highlights the importance of getting access to natural milk," he said. "The effects that we're seeing here are likely to have lifelong benefits to the individual. Whilst it may reduce the likelihood of infections in neonates, it's also likely that lung conditions later in life are going to be associated with lung development in the early phase of life."
Lisa Stinson, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia Centre for Human Lactation Research and Translation, said the study was "really strong foundational science" which underscored the value of breastfeeding and protecting the gut microbiome during the critical early-life window. But she said mouse studies were "a great starting point" and more work in humans was needed "before we can say anything definitive about what osteopontin is doing through breastmilk in babies".
Support, Access, and the System Around It
Griffith University Associate Professor Valerie Slavin, a maternity care and public health researcher, said the biggest gains for mothers and babies were likely to come from improving access to breastfeeding support. "We know many women stop breastfeeding earlier than they had planned, often because they don't receive timely, practical or consistent support," she said. "We should also be investing in systems that help women achieve their breastfeeding goals."
That line lands harder than the polished language around innovation and evidence. The study may be about a protein in breastmilk, but the broader picture includes who gets support, who gets access, and who gets left to navigate the early days alone while institutions talk about solutions. The researchers say the science is strong. The funding trail and the formula industry’s interest make clear who’s waiting to cash in on it.