title: [Immunological study of colostrum].
abstract: Breast milk has many advantages over cow's milk in feeding of infants. Breast-fed newborns usually have much less chance of infections than do bottle-fed ones. In this communication, the cellular and humoral immunocompetent components in the colostra of 80 mothers were studied. The results showed: 1) Colostrum contained a large number of viable leukocytes as blood, but the vast majority was monocyte/macrophage (63.76%); 2) T and B lymphocytes were present in the colostrum, the number of T cell was much less than that of the blood; 3) The colostral mononuclear cells (MNC) had lymphoproliferative responses to mitogens and the mitogenic capability decreased gradually postpartum; 4) The colostral MNC were able to produce interleukin 2, and 5) Immunoglobulins G, A and M and C3 and C4 were present in small amount in the colostrum, however, the concentration of IgA was nearly half of that of the blood. In conclusion, colostrum contains a lot of cellular and humoral immunocompetent components which will confer newborns with passive immunity to various microorganisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Municipal Women and Children Hospital.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification; D003126:Colostrum / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000378:metabolism; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification
chemical_list: D007136:Immunoglobulins; D007376:Interleukin-2; D003165:Complement System Proteins