Production of secretory immunoglobulin A by a single mammalian cell

Secretory IgA (sIgA) plays a critical role in providing protection against infection at the mucosal surfaces. Normally, sIgA is the product of two different cell types with heavy, light, and J chains produced by the plasma cells, whereas secretory component (SC), a cleavage product of the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR), is added during the transit of dimeric IgA through the epithelial cell layer. In the current study, by introducing a gene for the processed form of SC into a cell line that produces dimeric IgA, we have succeeded in creating a single cell that is able to produce and secrete covalently joined sIgA. To our knowledge, this is the first time it has been possible to efficiently produce large quantities of sIgA of defined specificity in mammalian cells. The sIgA made using this approach has great potential as an immunotherapeutic.