[HTML][HTML] Unbalanced neonatal CD4+ T-cell immunity

I Debock, V Flamand - Frontiers in immunology, 2014 - frontiersin.org
I Debock, V Flamand
Frontiers in immunology, 2014frontiersin.org
In comparison to adults, newborns display a heightened susceptibility to pathogens and a
propensity to develop allergic diseases. Particular properties of the neonatal immune system
can account for this sensitivity. Indeed, a defect in developing protective Th1-type responses
and a skewing toward Th2 immunity characterize today the neonatal T-cell immunity.
Recently, new findings concerning Th17, regulatory helper T-cell, and follicular helper T-cell
subsets in newborns have emerged. In some circumstances, development of effector …
In comparison to adults, newborns display a heightened susceptibility to pathogens and a propensity to develop allergic diseases. Particular properties of the neonatal immune system can account for this sensitivity. Indeed, a defect in developing protective Th1-type responses and a skewing toward Th2 immunity characterize today the neonatal T-cell immunity. Recently, new findings concerning Th17, regulatory helper T-cell, and follicular helper T-cell subsets in newborns have emerged. In some circumstances, development of effector inflammatory Th17-type responses can be induced in neonates, while differentiation in regulatory T-cells appears to be a default program of neonatal CD4+ T-cells. Poor antibody production, affinity maturation, and germinal center reaction in vaccinated neonates are correlated with a limiting expansion of TFH lymphocytes. We review herein the factors accounting for and the implications of the unbalanced neonatal helper T-cell immunity.
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