Breastfeeding stimulates total and cow’s milk‐specific salivary IgA in infants

Abstract

Breastfeeding may increase the rate of mucosal maturation and IgA production. We sought to determine the effect of breastfeeding vs. formula-feeding on the maturation of oral mucosa by measuring the salivary total antibodies and cow's milk protein-specific IgA. Fifty-eight saliva samples were collected from 39 healthy, full term infants. At the age of 3 months (n = 25) eight infants received only breast milk and seventeen formula (cow's milk based n = 10, hydrolysed n = 7) and breast milk; and at the age of 6 months (n = 33) eleven received breast milk, seventeen formula and breast milk and five were not breastfed any more (cow's milk based n = 14, hydrolysed n = 8). Total IgA, IgG, IgM and protein, and beta-lactoglobulin specific IgA were measured from saliva with enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). The antibody results were proportioned to total protein. No differences in antibody levels between the feeding groups were found at 3 months of age. At 6 months, total IgA, total IgM and beta-lactoglobulin-specific IgA were higher among the breastfed infants compared to those receiving formula as supplement to breast milk or not breastfed any more (breast milk vs. any formula p = 0.029, p = 0.015, p = 0.058; breast milk vs. cow's milk formula p = 0.025, p = 0.044, p = 0.038). To conclude, breastfeeding stimulated the mucosal immune system to produce IgA to saliva, which is a marker for immunological maturation and likely provides protection against environmental antigens.

Is the origin of type 1 diabetes in the gut?

“…Short breast‐feeding time may cause delay in the maturation of the gut because breast‐feeding supports epithelial and immunological maturation, such as the gut closure 20 and development of IgA system 42 . On the basis of the maturation of the gut during the early infancy, the avoidance of CM formula during the first months of life could support the development of oral tolerance and protect from beta‐cell autoimmunity.…”

Brief communication: Chronic undernutrition is associated with higher mucosal antibody levels among ariaal infants of northern kenya

“…Because infants were not breastfed for at least an hour before saliva collection, it is not likely that breastmilk remained in the mouth; however, this effect cannot be ruled out and remains a limitation of the reported result. On the other hand, previous work has established mixed evidence of an effect of breastmilk IgA on infant mucosal IgA development (Prentice, 1987;Böttcher et al, 2003;Maruyama et al, 2009;Piirainen et al, 2009). While there are no data that directly assesses the possibility of shared mother-infant disease ecology, complementary foods are a potential agent of common exposure: 87.9% of infants in the sample were fed cow milk or staple foods that may have been shared with the household.…”

Digestion of Protein in Premature and Term Infants

“…By 6 months of age, salivary immunoglobulin concentrations are higher in breast-fed infants than formula-fed infants, suggesting that breast feeding stimulates maturation of mucosal immunity and that these proteins are protected from oral digestion [47]. …”