Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
Mol Immunol. 2010 Apr;47(7-8):1608-12. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2010.01.015. Epub 2010 Feb 19.
The homing and migration of IgA antibody secreting cells (ASC) to the lactating mammary gland is essential to the passive transfer of immunity from mother to nursing neonate. Antibody secreting cells, located within the lactating mammary gland, produce high levels of antigen-specific IgA antibodies. These antibodies, which are subsequently transferred to the nursing neonate via breast milk, provide passive immune protection against antigens previously encountered by the mother to the nursing infant. The efficient homing and accumulation of lymphocytes is highly dependent on cellular adhesion molecules expressed on the vascular endothelium and their integrin ligands. Vasculature within the lactating mammary gland is known to express several adhesion molecules, including VCAM-1 and MAdCAM-1. However, the role of these molecules in vivo has not been previously described. Here we show that alpha4 integrins and VCAM-1 play essential roles in mediating the accumulation of IgA ASCs to the lactating mammary gland. Conversely, neither MAdCAM-1 nor its major ligand alpha4beta7 are required for efficient IgA ASC accumulation to this tissue.
IgA 抗体分泌细胞 (ASC) 归巢和迁移到哺乳期乳腺对于将母体免疫被动转移到哺乳新生儿至关重要。位于哺乳期乳腺中的抗体分泌细胞产生高水平的抗原特异性 IgA 抗体。这些抗体随后通过母乳转移到哺乳新生儿，为新生儿提供针对母亲先前遇到的抗原的被动免疫保护。淋巴细胞的有效归巢和积累高度依赖于血管内皮细胞上表达的细胞间黏附分子及其整合素配体。已知哺乳期乳腺中的脉管系统表达几种黏附分子，包括 VCAM-1 和 MAdCAM-1。然而，这些分子在体内的作用以前尚未描述。在这里，我们表明 alpha4 整合素和 VCAM-1 在介导 IgA ASC 向哺乳期乳腺的积累中发挥重要作用。相反，MAdCAM-1 及其主要配体 alpha4beta7 对于 IgA ASC 向该组织的有效积累都不是必需的。
