Breast Milk Modulates Transgenerational Immune Inheritance

Abstract

ROR-γt⁺ regulatory T cells (Tregs) of the colon can prevent excessive inflammation but also delay pathogen clearance. How these cells are regulated has remained elusive. In this issue of Cell, Ramanan et al. find that the set-point for ROR-γt⁺ Tregs is non-genetically maternally inherited during a critical time window after birth through immunoglobulin A present in breast milk.