How Breastfeeding Promotes Food Tolerance (IMAGE)

Boston Children's Hospital

How Breastfeeding Promotes Food Tolerance

Caption

As this schematic shows, mothers exposed to food allergens transfer antibodies to their offspring via breastmilk. Their immune systems make a complex of the antibody and allergen (IgG-IC complex), which is transferred to offspring through cells in the intestine, with the help of a receptor called FcRn. Dendritic cells, a type of immune cell, then process the Ig-IC complex and present it on their surface. This stimulates production of allergen-specific T regulatory (Treg) cells that interact with other immune cells to suppress food allergy.

Credit

Michiko Oyoshi /Nancy Fliesler, Boston Children's Hospital

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