Human secretory immunoglobulins (SIg) A1 and SIgA2 guide mucosal responses toward tolerance or inflammation, notably through reverse-transcytosis, the apical-to-basal transport of IgA2 immune complexes via M cells of gut Peyer's patches. As such, the maintenance of a diverse gut microbiota requires broad affinity IgA and glycan-glycan interaction. Here, we asked whether IgA1 and IgA2-microbiota interactions might be involved in dysbiosis induction during inflammatory bowel diseases. Using stool HPLC-purified IgA, we show that reverse-transcytosis is abrogated in ulcerative colitis (UC) while it is extended to IgA1 in Crohn's disease (CD). 16S RNA sequencing of IgA-bound microbiota in CD and UC showed distinct IgA1- and IgA2-associated microbiota; the IgA1+ fraction of CD microbiota was notably enriched in beneficial commensals. These features were associated with increased IgA anti-glycan reactivity in CD and an opposite loss of reactivity in UC. Our results highlight previously unknown pathogenic properties of IgA in IBD that could support dysbiosis.
Keywords: IBD; SIgA; glycosylation; immunity; microbiota.
© 2022 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.