期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1978
卷号：75
期号：6
页码：2928-2932
DOI：10.1073/pnas.75.6.2928
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：The secretory immune system of the mammary gland is undeveloped in virgin mice but becomes active at term and during lactation. This change appears to depend on migration to the mammary gland of precursors of IgA-secreting cells derived from the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, an origin which explains the specificity of milk IgA antibodies for enteric organisms. Because development of the epithelial components of the mammary gland is clearly under hormonal control, we examined the effect of mammotropic hormones on differentiation of the immune elements. Under a combined regimen of progesterone, estrogen, and prolactin, development of the glandular epithelium occurs with concomitant increments in the number of IgA-secreting plasma cells and amount of intraepithelial IgA. These increases appear to be due to enhanced capacity of the gland to attract or retain precursors of IgA plasma cells derived from gut-associated lymphoid tissue. Testosterone, which antagonizes lactation, also antagonizes development of the secretory immune system and decreases cellular trapping in the lactating gland. The ability of the gland to trap IgA immunoblasts is probably contingent upon a hormone-induced increase in receptors.
