Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is an antibody that plays a critical role in mucosal
immunity. More IgA is produced in mucosal linings than all other types of
antibody combined;[1] between three and five grams are secreted into the
intestinal lumen each day. This accumulates to 75% of the total immunoglobulin
produced in the entire body.
IgA has two subclasses (IgA1 and IgA2) and can exist in a dimeric form
called secretory IgA (sIgA). In its secretory form, IgA is the main
immunoglobulin found in mucous secretions, including tears, saliva, colostrum
and secretions from the genitourinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, prostate
and respiratory epithelium. It is also found in small amounts in blood. The
secretory component of sIgA protects the immunoglobulin from being degraded by
proteolytic enzymes, thus sIgA can survive in the harsh gastrointestinal tract
environment and provide protection against microbes that multiply in body
secretions. IgA is a poor activator of the complement system, and opsonises only
weakly.
The high prevalence of IgA in mucosal areas is a result of a cooperation
between plasma cells that produce polymeric IgA (pIgA), and mucosal epithelial
cells that express an immunoglobulin receptor called the polymeric Ig receptor
(pIgR). pIgA is released from the nearby activated plasma cells and binds to
pIgR. This results in transportation of IgA across mucosal epithelial cells and
its cleavage from pIgR for release into external secretions.[5]
In the blood, IgA interacts with an Fc receptor called FcRI (or CD89),
which is expressed on immune effector cells, to initiate inflammatory reactions.
Ligation of FcRI by IgA containing immune complexes causes antibody-dependent
cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), degranulation of eosinophils and basophils,
phagocytosis by monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils, and
triggering of respiratory burst activity by polymorphonuclear leukocytes
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