An Old Story Back: Human Milk Antibodies' Protective Roles Against Allergy Development

Human milk is a rich source of immunomodulatory factors that influence the development of the infant immune system, including susceptibility to allergic diseases. Among these components, milk antibodies have been extensively studied for their role in protecting against infections; however, their potential contribution to allergy prevention may be equally important. The mechanisms of protection include allergen exclusion, enhanced and targeted antigen presentation, immune modulation via shaping of the infant gut microbiome, and direct regulation of gut immune responses. This review summarizes current evidence on the secretion of human milk antibodies, highlights what is known and what remains unclear about their role in allergy prevention and outlines the need for further research to develop antibody-based strategies for early allergy prevention.

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Publication Details

Journal
Allergy
Published
2026-01-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/all.70218
Primary Topic
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

An Old Story Back: Human Milk Antibodies' Protective Roles Against Allergy Development

Andrew J. Macpherson, Debra J. Palmer, Courtney M. Jackson, Antti Seppo et al.
Allergy
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Research
article

An Old Story Back: Human Milk Antibodies' Protective Roles Against Allergy Development

Andrew J. Macpherson, Debra J. Palmer, Courtney M. Jackson, Antti Seppo, Valérie Verhasselt, Kirsi M. Järvinen, Maria Carmen Collado, Richard A. Insel, David C. Dallas
article en

Abstract

Human milk is a rich source of immunomodulatory factors that influence the development of the infant immune system, including susceptibility to allergic diseases. Among these components, milk antibodies have been extensively studied for their role in protecting against infections; however, their potential contribution to allergy prevention may be equally important. The mechanisms of protection include allergen exclusion, enhanced and targeted antigen presentation, immune modulation via shaping of the infant gut microbiome, and direct regulation of gut immune responses. This review summarizes current evidence on the secretion of human milk antibodies, highlights what is known and what remains unclear about their role in allergy prevention and outlines the need for further research to develop antibody-based strategies for early allergy prevention.

Allergy
University of Bern (CH), Bern University of Applied Sciences (CH), Oregon State University (US), The University of Western Australia (AU), University Hospital of Bern (CH), University of Rochester Medical Center (US), Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (ES), University of Rochester (US)
Family Larsson‐Rosenquist Foundation, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 84%
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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