Maternal IgA protects against the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.

ABSTRACT: Neonates are protected from colonizing bacteria by antibodies secreted into maternal milk. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a disease of neonatal preterm infants with high morbidity and mortality that is associated with intestinal inflammation driven by the microbiota^1-3. The incidence of NEC is substantially lower in infants fed with maternal milk, although the mechanisms that underlie this benefit are not clear^4-6. Here we show that maternal immunoglobulin A (IgA) is an important factor for protection against NEC. Analysis of IgA binding to fecal bacteria from preterm infants indicated that maternal milk was the predominant source of IgA in the first month of life and that a relative decrease in IgA-bound bacteria is associated with the development of NEC. Sequenc

SUBMITTER: Gopalakrishna KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7424541 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature