Figure 3.

Quantification of GR-MDSC in the breast milk of preterm infants (maternal characteristics). Milk cells were isolated from the breast milk of mothers of preterm infants during the first five weeks of life. Percentages of GR-MDSC of total CD45⁺ leucocytes were determined by flow cytometry. The mean percentage of BM-MDSC was calculated. (A–C) Scatter diagrams showing the expression of GR-MDSC in breast milk of women who delivered spontaneously and of women who delivered by elective cesarean section (A), in women who received antepartum steroids and who did not (B), and in women who received antepartum tocolytics and who did not (C). n = 11–65, * p < 0.05, ns not significant, Mann–Whitney test.