As part of the gut epithelial barrier, sIgA is important in the development of immune tolerance for normal, beneficial commensal gut organisms, as well as common molecular epitopes found in foods.
Early studies of sIgA focused on immune exclusion (the prevention of pathological material and organisms from gaining entry into the general circulation). Recent studies also show sIgA plays a role in immune inclusion (delivery of commensal bacteria and their products to the gut and systemic immune system) for recognition. This leads to the development of immune tolerance. Immune inclusion spares beneficial organisms from destruction by the immune system which helps to support the immune system in a noninflammatory way to preserve local homeostasis.
Although secretory IgA is the major antibody in the intestinal mucosa, the prevalence of GI disorders in patients with systemic IgA deficiency is not as high as one might expect. It is thought that the transportation of IgM from the mucosa can compensate for a lack of IgA.
In people with genetic immunodeficiency of systemic sIgA, GI symptoms such as diarrhea have been reported. Systemically IgA-deficient patients more often have airway infections since compensatory sIgM is lacking in the airways (in contrast to the gut). Adaptive sIgA responses may allow the host to respond to fluctuations in commensal bacteria to favor mucosal homeostasis.
Considerations for low fecal sIgA:
Because of the lack of clinical evidence, there is no clear cut-off value for low fecal sIgA. People with systemic IgA deficiency can have low levels of fecal secretory IgA. There is a demonstrated link between IgA deficiency and several GI diseases, including:
- celiac disease,
- giardiasis,
- nodular lymphoid hyperplasia,
- ulcerative colitis,
- Crohn’s disease,
- pernicious anemia,
- and gastric and colonic adenocarcinoma.
Low sIgA may reflect a loss of GI immune response resiliency. Fecal sIgA may be low in severe/prolonged IBD patients due to a switch from intestinal IgA to IgG production as well as a deficiency in producing IgA dimers and polymers.
Secretory IgA demonstrates an array of activities integral to the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis. It influences the composition of intestinal microbiota, down-regulates pro-inflammatory responses normally associated with the uptake of highly pathogenic bacteria and potentially allergenic antigens, and promotes the retro-transport of antigens across the intestinal epithelium to gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Therefore, a low sIgA is clinically significant.
The test result should be considered together with any other medical condition, other biomarkers, and microbiome profiles when interpreting the data.
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get your interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Causes of elevated fecal sIgA:
- Any defective epithelial barrier
- A defective epithelial barrier allows bacterial and microbial penetration, which is the strongest stimulator of sIgA production.
- Celiac disease
- Colon cancer
- Infections
- IBS (especially the diarrhea subtype)
Therapeutic considerations for elevated fecal sIgA:
Assess for and treat root causes of immune upregulation /inflammation:
- Infection (bacterial, parasitic, and/or viral pathogen, potential pathogen)
- Compromised intestinal barrier function (i.e., intestinal permeability)
- Heightened response to noninfectious stimuli (i.e., food sensitivity/allergy, etc.)
Consider Food Antibody testing – If positive, consider elimination diet
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report, and we'll interpret and provide you with recommendations today.
Get StartedOur specialized data entry service is designed to seamlessly integrate your laboratory results into your private dashboard. Just send in your lab test results—whether it's an image or a file—and our skilled data entry team will handle the rest. We accommodate various file formats like PDFs, JPGs, and Excel.
The first report is complimentary. After that, the data entry service is priced at $15 per report, unless it's part of your subscribed plan. It's an ideal solution whether you have numerous reports to upload or if your schedule doesn't permit self-data entry.
We strive to make the data entry process easy for you. Whether by offering dozens of templates to choose from that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels or by giving you instant feedback on the entered values. Our data entry forms are an easy, fast, and convenient way to enter the reports yourself. There is no limit on how many lab reports you can upload.
Personal plans
track personal results
Professional Plan
track multiple client's results
$15/month
$250/once
own it for life
$45/month
for health professionals
Personal Account
$15/month
for personal lab results
$250/once
own it for life
Level up your lab report analysis with our Pro plan, built for health practitioners like you.
Health Business Account
$45/month
Unlock additional Pro plans when you sign up.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
A2142C, A2142G, A2143G, A926G, Adenovirus 40/41, AGA926-928TTC, Akkermansia muciniphila, Amoxicillin, Ancylostoma duodenale, Anti-gliadin IgA, Ascaris lumbricoides, b-Glucuronidase, Bacillus spp., Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium spp., Blastocystis hominis, C. difficile, Toxin A, C. difficile, Toxin B, Calprotectin, Campylobacter, Candida albicans, Candida spp., Chilomastix mesnili, Citrobacter freundii, Citrobacter spp., Clarithromycin, Clostridia (class), Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora spp., Cytomegalovirus, Desulfovibrio spp., Dientamoeba fragilis, E. coli O157, Elastase-1, Endolimax nana, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, Enterobacter spp., Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus spp., Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Enteroinvasive E. coli/Shigella, Enterotoxigenic E. coli LT/ST, Eosinophil Activation Protein (EDN/EPX), Epstein-Barr Virus, Escherichia spp., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Firmicutes, Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes Ratio, Fluoroquinolones, Fusobacterium spp., Geotrichum spp., Giardia, gyrA D91G, gyrA D91N, gyrA N87K, gyrB R484K, gyrB S479N, Helicobacter pylori, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella spp., Lactobacillus spp., M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, Methanobacteriaceae (family), Microsporidium spp., Morganella spp., Necator americanus, Norovirus GI/II, Occult Blood - FIT, PBP1A N562Y, PBP1A S414R, PBP1A T556S, Pentatrichomonas hominis, Prevotella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Proteus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas spp., Rhodotorula spp., Rodotorula spp., Roseburia spp., Salmonella, Secretory IgA, Shiga-like Toxin E. coli stx1, Shiga-like Toxin E. coli stx2, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus spp., Steatocrit, Streptococcus spp., Taenia spp., Tetracycline, Trichuris trichiura, Vibrio cholerae, Virulence Factor, babA, Virulence Factor, cagA, Virulence Factor, dupA, Virulence Factor, iceA, Virulence Factor, oipA, Virulence Factor, vacA, Virulence Factor, virB, Virulence Factor, virD, Yersinia enterocolitica, Zonulin