Interactions between the Gut Microbiome and Mucosal Immunoglobulins A, M, and G in the Developing Infant Gut

Abstract

Antibodies are secreted into the gut and attach to roughly half of the trillions of bacterial cells present. When babies are born, the breastmilk supplies these antibodies until the baby’s own immune system takes over this task after a few weeks. The vast majority of these antibodies are IgA, but two other types, IgG and IgM, are also present in the gut. Here, we ask if these three different antibody types target different types of bacteria in the infant gut as the infant develops from birth to 18 months old and how patterns of antibody coating of bacteria change with age. In this study of healthy infant samples over time, we found that IgA and IgM coat the same bacteria, which are generally representative of the diversity present, with a few exceptions that were more or less antibody coated than expected. IgG coated a separate suite of bacteria. These results provide a better understanding of how these antibodies interact with the developing infant gut microbiome.