Variable increases of IgG and IgM antibodies in milk of IgA deficient women

Serum, milk and saliva from seven IgA deficient mothers were studied for the presence of IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies to Escherichia coli and poliovirus antigens. Different variable patterns were obtained. One mother had very much increased IgM and IgG antibodies in milk and saliva against both antigens; the milk IgG antibodies were 11-14 times higher than the reference milk pool. Another mother showed also striking increases of both IgM and IgG antibodies in milk, as well as in saliva where the increases were much higher for the poliovirus than the E. coli antibodies. Yet another mother showed a certain increase of IgM but not of IgG antibodies in the milk. The uneven appearance of IgG and IgM antibodies in serum and secretions suggests local production. So do the differences of antibody avidities, the variations in IgG subclass distribution of antibodies and different patterns after isoelectric focusing (IEF)/immunoblotting analysis of antibody spectrotypes in secretions and serum. The study illustrates the variable patterns of compensatory increases of IgG and IgM antibodies which may occur in IgA deficiency. It also shows that the milk from IgA deficient mothers can still be rich in antibodies, in spite of the lack of secretory IgA.