Immunity From Mom

We've discussed in class how important it is for mother's to breast feed their baby because it's a good method to pass along immunity to the infant. Breast feeding passes along IgA from the mother to the baby providing protection in the gut against microbes. Since babies don't start making their own IgA until after birth, breast feeding is important for the baby to get their source of IgA until they can make enough of their own.

Studies lead by teams from BYU, Harvard, and Stanford found the molecule CCR10 to be an important player in the ability to pass along immunity from the mother to the baby via breast feeding. This study was done in mice and they found that mice that lack this CCR10 molecule had 70 times fewer cells that produce antibodies in the mammary gland.

In essence, the mechanism underlying breast feeding as a means to pass along immunity to our infant is more complicated than I thought. Without the CCR10 molecule, good breast feeding practice wouldn't be any good in providing IgA protection.

References:
Breast Milk Molecule Gives Mom's Immunity to Baby -http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70850.html
Breast-feeding, infant formulas, and the immune system -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov