Lessons from mother: Long-term impact of antibodies in breast milk on the gut microbiota and intestinal immune system of breastfed offspring

From birth to adulthood, the gut microbiota matures from a simple community dominated by a few major bacterial groups into a highly diverse ecosystem that provides both benefits and challenges to the host. Currently there is great interest in identifying environmental and host factors that shape the development of our gut microbiota. Breast milk is a rich source of maternal antibodies, which provide the first source of adaptive immunity in the newborn’s intestinal tract. In this addendum, we summarize our recent data demonstrating that maternal antibodies in breast milk promote long-term intestinal homeostasis in suckling mice by regulating the gut microbiota and host gene expression. We also discuss important unanswered questions, future directions for research in this field, and implications for human health and disease.