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Microbial symphony orchestrated by mucosal IgA

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 19, pages 456–457 (2022)Cite this article

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The ability of an organism to handle the beauty and cruelty of existence is largely due to a complex network of molecular and cellular interactions and processes named the immune system. Important components of this network are antibodies (Abs) that have key roles in immune defense and regulation. Typical biological functions of Abs include neutralizing pathogens by blocking functionally important molecules and/or to eliciting lethal effector functions by bridging the recognition of pathogens with binding to different innate immune receptors. However, Abs also promote alternative strategies known as noncanonical functions. For instance, Abs exhibit catalytic activities, act as chaperons and carriers for hormones, and regulate cell signaling [1]. The past decade has been marked by enormous interest in studies of mucosal Ab immune responses. This interest resulted in the discovery of various novel biological functions of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA). In a recent article published in Nature, Rollenske et al. [2] reveal an important biological role of intestinal SIgA, namely, the ability to shape microbial fitness by exerting in parallel a set of different functional activities on bacteria.

IgA typically exists in two forms: monomeric, which circulates in serum, and oligomeric (mostly dimeric), which is present at mucosal surfaces. The complex of an epithelial-derived glycoprotein called the secretory component (SC), two IgA molecules and the J chain is known as SIgA. One of the main tasks of SIgA is to protect the intestinal epithelium from enteric pathogens and toxins [3]. Hence, given the belief that everything happens for a reason, it is not surprising that IgA Abs are abundant at mucosal surfaces where two different types of humoral immunity coexist: one implicated in protection against pathogens and another required for homeostatic interactions with commensal bacteria [4]. SIgA evokes multiple processes for neutralization of pathogens, including (1) blocking the attachment of microbes to the epithelium by binding to receptor-binding domains and (2) immune exclusion through the induction of agglutination, entrapment or clearance of microbes [3, 4]. Uncovering how these pathways function is of paramount importance to obtain new insights from the evolutionary point of view as well as the treatment of enteric pathologies.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM, France). A.R.R. is the recipient of a fellowship from an Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Program under grant agreement No 859974, project EDUC8.

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  1. Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, INSERM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, 75006, Paris, France

    Alejandra Reyes-Ruiz & Jordan D. Dimitrov

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  1. Alejandra Reyes-Ruiz
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  2. Jordan D. Dimitrov
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ARR and JDD builded the concept of the article, wrote the text of the article, and drew the figure.

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Correspondence to Alejandra Reyes-Ruiz or Jordan D. Dimitrov.

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Reyes-Ruiz, A., Dimitrov, J.D. Microbial symphony orchestrated by mucosal IgA. Cell Mol Immunol 19, 456–457 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-021-00819-0

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