Variability of vaccine responsiveness in early life
1Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Research Institute, Rochester General Hospital, 1425 Portland Ave, Rochester, NY 14621, USA.
Insights
Early life infant gut microbiota and metabolome development influence vaccine responses. Optimizing these factors during the first 100 days may improve infant immunity and reduce infection susceptibility.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Infant vaccinations can yield inconsistent immune protection against serious infections.
- Early life immune system development, particularly within the first 100 days, is critical for vaccine responsiveness.
Approach:
- This review examines modifiable early-life factors impacting infant vaccine responses.
- Focuses on the development of the infant microbiota and metabolome.
- Investigates the roles of antibiotic exposure, feeding methods (breast vs. formula), and delivery mode (vaginal vs. Cesarean).
Key Points:
- The infant gut microbiota can act as a natural adjuvant, enhancing vaccine efficacy.
- Microbiota-derived metabolites significantly influence the development of adaptive immunity post-vaccination.
- Poor early-life vaccine responsiveness is associated with immune dysregulation and increased infection risk.
Conclusions:
- Identifying an early-life pre-vaccination endotype is crucial for predicting vaccine response.
- Interventions targeting microbiota and metabolome development hold potential for optimizing infant vaccine responses.
- Early life interventions can improve long-term immunity and reduce susceptibility to infections.
Abstract:
Vaccinations in early life elicit variable antibody and cellular immune responses, sometimes leaving fully vaccinated children unprotected against life-threatening infectious diseases. Specific immune cell populations and immune networks may have a critical period of development and calibration in a window of opportunity occurring during the first 100 days of early life. Among the early life determinants of vaccine responses, this review will focus on modifiable factors involving development of the infant microbiota and metabolome: antibiotic exposure, breast versus formula feeding, and Caesarian section versus vaginal delivery of newborns. How microbiota may serve as natural adjuvants for vaccine responses and how microbiota-derived metabolites influence vaccine responses are also reviewed. Early life poor vaccine responsiveness can be linked to increased infection susceptibility because both phenotypes share similar immunity dysregulation profiles. An early life pre-vaccination endotype, when interventions have the highest potential for success, should be sought that predicts vaccine response trajectories.
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