title: Non-genetic inheritable potential of maternal antibodies.
abstract: Maternal antibodies (IgG and IgA) not only provide passive protection against microbial infections, but also exert a variety of equally important active, idiotypically-mediated immunoregulatory functions. Since the generation of maternal antibodies depends entirely on the stimulation of the mother's immune system by external mainly thymus-dependent antigens, with long-lived antigen independent plasma cells in the bone marrow, maternal antibodies represent the mother's collective ontogenetic immunological experience. Although their stimulatory potential in mice is restricted to the neonatal imprinting period, maternal antibodies exert a life-long determinative influence which is even dominant over seemingly genetic predispositions. Therefore, the functional impact of maternal IgG antibodies appears phenotypically as a non-genetic inheritance.
authors.affiliation: Biochemical Institute, Medical Faculty, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Rudolf-Höber-Strasse 1, Otto Meyerhof-Haus, D-24118 Kiel, Germany. hlemke@biochem.uni-kiel.de
authors.forename: Hilmar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lemke
authors.forename: Hinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lange
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000235:genetics*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D010059:Ovomucin / Q000276:immunology; D010081:Oxazolone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000276:immunology; D010741:Phospholipases A / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C018361:2-phenyloxazolone; D010081:Oxazolone; D010059:Ovomucin; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D010741:Phospholipases A