Abstract
Human milk contains various defense components, such as bifidus and antistaphylococcal factors, lysozyme, lactoferrin, receptor analogues, and lipids, which have been shown to inhibit microbial adhesion to host cells, function, proliferation and/or expression in vitro.1–5 The biologic significance of these substances in the gastrointestinal tract of the breast-fed infant needs further elucidation. In addition, human colostrum and milk contain large numbers of cells involved in immune reactions, such as macrophages, neutrophiles, B- and T- lymphocytes, and immunoglobulins G, M, and A,6–9 The secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), is formed by two IgA monomers, a joining (J) chain, and a secretory component (SC); this particular arrangement makes the molecule of SIgA resistant to enzymatic degradation and, therefore, functional in the gastrointestinal tract.10
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