IMMUNOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -During the last 3 months of pregnancy, antibodies from mothers are passed to their unborn babies through the placenta. This type of immunity is called passive immunity because the baby has been given antibodies rather than making them itself.

Detailed explanation-2: -Passive Immunity. Passive immunity is provided when a person is given antibodies to a disease rather than producing them through his or her own immune system. A newborn baby acquires passive immunity from its mother through the placenta.

Detailed explanation-3: -IgG is the only antibody class that significantly crosses the human placenta. This crossing is mediated by FcRn expressed on syncytiotrophoblast cells.

Detailed explanation-4: -A passive immunity acquired by the fetus or newborn from the mother via the placental transfer of antibodies during pregnancy and via breast milk. This type of immunity is short-lived, lasting the first six months of the newborn’s life.

Detailed explanation-5: -Maternal antibodies represent a natural form of passive immunotherapy in which the immunoglobulin (Ig) G repertoire of the mother’s preexisting humoral immune response is transferred to the fetus through the placenta. Acquisition of maternal antibodies varies widely among mammalian species.

Detailed explanation-6: -Placental transfer of maternal IgG antibodies to the fetus is an important mechanism that provides protection to the infant while his/her humoral response is inefficient. IgG is the only antibody class that significantly crosses the human placenta.

Detailed explanation-7: -Passive immunity can occur naturally, such as when an infant receives a mother’s antibodies through the placenta or breast milk, or artificially, such as when a person receives antibodies in the form of an injection (gamma globulin injection).