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Updated: Dec 28, 2025
Isolation of Leukocytes from the Murine Tissues at the Maternal-Fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Maternal Leukocytes and Infant Immune Programming during Breastfeeding
1Surgery Department and the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-Rutgers University, 89 French Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
The fetal immune system develops in a rather sterile environment relative to the outside world and, therefore, lacks antigenic education. Soon after birth, the newborn is exposed to the hostile environment of pathogens. Recently, animal- and limited human-based studies have indicated that help from the mother, upon transfer of leukocytes and their products via breast milk feeding, greatly assists the newborn's immune system. Here, I discuss the newest advances on how milk leukocytes impact early life immunity, with an emphasis on the development of the infant T cell repertoire and early immune responses in the periphery and gut-associated lymphoid tissue. A deeper understanding of these novel mechanistic insights may inform potential translational approaches to improving immunity in infants.
The fetal immune system develops in a rather sterile environment relative to the outside world and, therefore, lacks antigenic education. Soon after birth, the newborn is exposed to the hostile environment of pathogens. Recently, animal- and limited human-based studies have indicated that help from the mother, upon transfer of leukocytes and their products via breast milk feeding, greatly assists the newborn's immune system. Here, I discuss the newest advances on how milk leukocytes impact early life immunity, with an emphasis on the development of the infant T cell repertoire and early immune responses in the periphery and gut-associated lymphoid tissue. A deeper understanding of these novel mechanistic insights may inform potential translational approaches to improving immunity in infants.
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