Benefits and burden of the maternally-mediated immunological imprinting

• Published in: Autoimmunity reviews Vol. 8; no. 5; pp. 394 - 399
• Main Authors: Lemke, Hilmar, Tanasa, Radu Iulian, Trad, Ahmad, Lange, Hans
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.03.2009
• Subjects: Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Atherosclerosis - blood; Atherosclerosis - congenital; Atherosclerosis - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - metabolism; Congenital autoimmune disease; Epi-genetic inheritance; Epitopes - immunology; Female; Humans; Hypersensitivity - blood; Hypersensitivity - congenital; Hypersensitivity - immunology; Immune and nervous system analogies; Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; Immunoglobulins - blood; Immunological imprinting; Maternal antibodies; Neoplasms - blood; Neoplasms - congenital; Neoplasms - immunology; Placental Circulation - immunology; Pregnancy; T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity - immunology; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; Transgenerational protection; Virus Diseases - blood; Virus Diseases - congenital; Virus Diseases - immunology; Immunological imprinting; Epi-genetic inheritance; Transgenerational protection; Maternal antibodies; Immune and nervous system analogies; Congenital autoimmune disease
• ISSN: 1568-9972; 1568-9972; 1873-0183
• DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2008.12.005

Abstract The ontogenetic development of both the immune and the nervous system entirely depend on external environmental signals that induce a lifelong learning process. The resulting collective immunological knowledge about the external world is transmitted in an epi-genetic fashion to the offspring, but only from the maternal and not the paternal side, with maternal IgG as the main transgenerational vector. As products of thymus-dependent responses, maternal IgG have undergone immune maturation by somatic hypermutations and are, therefore, acquired immunological phenotypes representing a great deal of the mother's immunological experience. During a limited neonatal imprinting period, maternal antibodies induce T cell-dependent idiotypic responses. These exert up to life-long determinative influences which may even be dominant over seemingly genetic predispositions. Such long-term immunological imprinting effects can be detected as (a) selection of the adult T and B cell repertoires, (b) anti-microbial protection by antigen-reactive antibodies (idiotypes) and anti-idiotypes, (c) allergen-specific suppression of IgE responsiveness by allergen-reactive IgG idiotype or corresponding anti-idiotype and (d) induction of autoimmune diseases by maternally-derived autoantibodies. Hence, immunological imprinting by maternal IgG antibodies will mostly be beneficial, but in case of autoantibodies can also be a burden for the initial development of the nascent immune system.