CD79A and infection: While IgA is more commonly known in its dimeric and polymeric forms as a crucial player of mucosal defense, with mucosal IgA often associated with protection from viral replication and transmission at the local site of infection (22), systemic IgA can also exist in monomeric form in serum with a generally shorter half-life than IgG and has been variably associated with both disease severity and protection (23, 24).