Premium
Maternal fucosyltransferase 2 genotype alters milk immunoglobulin A levels specific to some strains of norovirus
Author(s) -
Taft Diana Hazard,
Jiang Jason,
Huang Peng-Wei,
Davidson Barbara,
Morrow Ardythe Luxion
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.625.3
Subject(s) - fucosyltransferase , genotype , biology , antibody , norovirus , immunoglobulin a , immune system , secretory iga , immunology , virology , immunoglobulin g , gene , genetics , virus
Secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) found in mother's milk reflects her immune response to a lifetime of infectious challenge and helps protect infants from many infectious diseases, including noroviruses (NVs). Some NV strains preferentially infect secretors (Se) ‐ individuals with a functional copy of the fucosyltransferase 2 ( FUT2 ) gene, those lacking a functional copy are non‐secretors (Non‐Se). We tested the hypothesis that maternal secretor status alters the levels of strain‐specific NV antibodies in milk. We analyzed the relative levels of milk sIgA against two strains of NV ‐ strain 387, which preferentially infects Se, and strain 207 which does not preferentially infect Se individuals. Strain‐specific and total sIgA were analyzed using ELISA in week 4 milk samples from 79 mothers. Maternal FUT2 genotype was analyzed by TaqMan assay to identify the 428G>A null mutation. The relationship between maternal secretor status and total, anti‐387, and anti‐207 sIgA was analyzed using Kruskal‐Wallis tests with Bonferroni correction. Non‐Se mothers had significantly lower levels of anti‐387 sIgA (p<0.001) in their milk. There were no significant differences in the amount of total or anti‐207 sIgA levels in milk based on maternal FUT2 genotype. This study indicates that milk sIgA levels can be influenced by genetics as well as history of infection. Grant Funding Source : NICHD P01 HD 13021