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Protecting the Newborn and Young Infant from Infectious Diseases: Lessons from Immune Ontogeny
Tobias R Kollmann1, Beate Kampmann2, Sarkis K Mazmanian3
1Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and BC Children's Hospital 938 W 28(th) Ave, A5-175, Vancouver, BC V5Z4H4.
Insights
Newborns face common, severe infections due to immune system adaptations, not immaturity. Understanding these early-life immune strategies can help develop interventions to protect infants from infectious diseases.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Neonatal Health
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Infants experience frequent and severe infections within their first year of life.
- Neonatal immunity differs quantitatively and qualitatively from adult immunity, contributing to increased infection susceptibility.
- This susceptibility is viewed as an adaptation to early-life immune demands rather than simple immaturity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the mechanisms of host defense in newborns.
- To discuss how developmental demands influence susceptibility to specific infectious diseases in early life.
- To explore the potential for interventions leveraging early-life immune plasticity for protection.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on neonatal immunology and host defense mechanisms.
- Analysis of how specific developmental and environmental factors shape infant immunity.
- Examination of the concept of immune plasticity in early life.
Main Results:
- Infant immune responses are adapted to early-life conditions, not merely immature.
- Specific adaptations increase vulnerability to certain infections during development.
- Immune plasticity in newborns offers opportunities for protective interventions.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal immune differences represent adaptive strategies for early life.
- Understanding these adaptations is key to addressing infant infectious disease risks.
- Leveraging immune plasticity can enhance protection against infections in young children.
Abstract:
Infections in the first year of life are common and often severe. The newborn host demonstrates both quantitative and qualitative differences to the adult in nearly all aspects of immunity, which at least partially explain the increased susceptibility to infection. Here we discuss how differences in susceptibility to infection result not out of a state of immaturity, but rather reflect adaptation to the particular demands placed on the immune system in early life. We review the mechanisms underlying host defense in the very young, and discuss how specific developmental demands increase the risk of particular infectious diseases. In this context, we discuss how this plasticity, i.e. the capacity to adapt to demands encountered in early life, also provides the potential to leverage protection of the young against infection and disease through a number of interventions.
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