Abstract

Infants are born with naive immune systems, making them susceptible to a variety of infections. In order to protect the newborn infant it is important that mothers be able to pass protective IgA antibodies to their infants through breast milk. B cells that produce IgA enter the mammary tissue during lactation and secrete IgA into the milk. During pregnancy, the mammary tissue expresses high levels of chemokines, molecules that allow lymphocytes to selectively home to specific tissues. The chemokine CCL28 has been shown to be upregulated during both pregnancy and lactation, and is vital for the ability of IgA-producing B cells to home to the mammary tissue during lactation. The aim of this study was to determine whether CCL28 expression is regulated by prolactin signaling.

Degree

College and Department

Life Sciences; Microbiology and Molecular Biology

Rights

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