There are many benefits of breastfeeding on the health of the newborn. A study carried out by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine University (USA) has discovered that mothers could transfer to babies a series of protective antibodies against infectious gastrointestinal disease that would improve their immune system.
Specifically, the authors focused on antibodies called Immunoglobulin G (IgG), which are responsible for eliminating infectious bacteria and viruses that try to enter the body. To learn how these antibodies are transferred from the mother’s blood to her breast milk and how they influence infant intestinal immunity against Citrobacter rodentium (similar to Escherichia coli in humans), the researchers used a series of mice.
The results, which have been published in the journal Science Immunology, indicated that IgG antibodies were able to protect breastfed babies against intestinal infections. That is, mothers can transfer beneficial antibodies to their children through breast milk. And it is that diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of death among children under five years of age, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Important discovery for the health of premature babies
Based on this, the researchers created a vaccine that included a component of intestinal bacteria with which they immunized female mice before they were pregnant. “The same concept, in which vaccination increases mothers’ IgG antibody levels and transfers this immunity to their babies, could protect human babies. This strategy could especially benefit premature babies, as they tend to be at much higher risk of diarrheal illnesses,” says Dr. Melody Zeng.
Baby mice that had received IgG antibodies from their mother’s milk had less risk of infectious bacteria sticking to their intestines
The study found that transferring IgG through breast milk to baby mice prevented disease-causing infectious bacteria from sticking to the lining of the babies’ intestines, which is the first step in infection.
In addition, they found that the intestinal microbiota of babies contributes to the correct development and functioning of the immune system of babies, so that the useful intestinal bacteria are capable of training the immune system so that it learns to quickly recognize its pathogenic relatives and kill them. them as soon as possible.
As for the long-term effects of IgG antibodies, the researchers found evidence that mice that never received this protection from their mothers ended up developing abnormal microbial communities in their intestines, which led to changes in their immune systems.
Specifically, it was observed that there was an increase in intestinal immune cells that generate IL-17, a proinflammatory cytokine associated with inflammatory diseases. As adults, mice that had been deprived of IgG were more likely to develop abnormal inflammation related to inflammatory bowel disorder.
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