Immune Cells in Breast Milk Protect Infants from HIV
Scientists have found immune cells in the milk of HIV-infected mothers that target and kill the virus.  This finding, which could help explain the low transmission rate from mother to child via breastfeeding despite high levels of the virus in mother’s milk, appears in the August 2002 issue of the Journal of Virology.

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Zambia Exclusive Breast-Feeding Study, Boston University and Columbia University tested breast milk cells (BMC) from HIV-infected women in the United States and Africa for their ability to identify and respond to components of the AIDS virus.  While BMC’s from all of the HIV-infected women reacted to the HIV proteins, there was no reaction from the cells from the uninfected women.

Further tests revealed that the responses were due to the presence of immune cells known as CD8+ T cells, the same immune cells that play a critical role in controlling HIV levels in the blood. 

“These studies provide evidence that maternally derived T cells make their way into the infant’s circulation and potentially protect the infant via adoptive transfer of maternal T cells,” say the researchers.  “In addition to the protection these cells may afford the neonate, we speculate that they may also be acting locally to reduce the viral load in breast milk, lowering the viral burden, and potentially decreasing transmission to newborns from their HIV-infected mothers.”


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