Disruptions to the gut microbiota have been associated with a variety of diseases. Understanding the underlying mechanisms that regulate the maintenance of a healthy microbiota may therefore have therapeutic implications. Secretory IgA play a unique role in immune–microbiota crosstalk by directly binding to bacteria in the gut lumen. Microbe-specific IgA responses co-develop with the assembly of the gut microbiota during infancy, and resemble those of adults by 2 years postnatally in the healthy host. We propose here that microbiota-specific IgA-producing gut plasma cells generated during infancy live for many decades and contribute to a stable microbiota community. We furthermore suggest that members of the microbiota that induce long-lasting IgA responses in the gut are putative targets for therapeutic interventions.

中文翻译：

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寿命长的浆细胞能否在肠道中维持健康的微生物群？

肠道菌群破坏与多种疾病有关。因此，了解调节健康微生物群维持的潜在机制可能具有治疗意义。通过直接结合肠腔中的细菌，分泌型IgA在免疫-微生物群相串扰中发挥独特作用。在婴儿期，微生物特异性IgA反应与肠道菌群的组装共同发展，并在健康宿主中出生后2年与成年人相似。我们在此提出，婴儿期产生的微生物群特异性IgA产生的肠道浆细胞可以存活数十年，并有助于稳定的微生物群。我们进一步建议，在肠道中诱导持久IgA反应的微生物群成员是治疗干预的假定目标。