And in addition to IgA there are also glycans (thousands of different types) 
that act as decoys for pathogens in human milk (bacteria think that they are 
attaching to the wall of the intestine but they're not and they just pass 
out in stools).
Karleen Gribble
Australia
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laurie Shornick" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: adult autoimmune neutropenia


>
> Now here's the great news. The main antibody in breastmilk is IgA and  it 
> works in a different way than the IgG type. This IgA type of  antibody is 
> produced on all our mucosal surfaces (the lining of the  respiratory tract 
> & the lining of the gastrointestinal tract) which  are the main places 
> where we encounter bacteria and viruses. The  first thing that the 
> bacteria or virus needs to do to infect us is to  bind to the lining of 
> our respiratory or GI tract, BUT the IgA type  of antibody binds to the 
> bacteria or virus and actually BLOCKS it  from binding to us at all. In 
> other words, it can prevent infection  from even being established. Or 
> reduce it to the level where there  aren't any symptoms. This mechanism 
> also does not cause any  inflammation.

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