5. Conclusion
In summary, neonates demonstrate striking deficiencies in cell-mediated immunity to a number of pathogens. A number of carefully orchestrated cellular and molecular events must occur before a strong cell-mediated immune response can be mounted, and newborns are transiently deficient at a number of points along the way. Neonatal antigen presenting function is less efficient than that of adults, and, in particular neonatal dendritic cells secrete less IL-12. Neonatal CD4 cells are prevented from differentiating into Th1 cells due to decreased levels of STAT4 and epigenetic regulation of the IFN-γ promoter. They also express less CD154. Consequently, the normal positive feedback loops for driving cell-mediated immunity, in which IFN-γ and CD154 from T cells induce dendritic cells to produce more IL-12, are interrupted. A better understanding of these mechanisms will be important in the care of newborns as well as in vaccine development.
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Randolph, D.A., Lewis, D.B. (2006). Transient Deficiencies of T-Cell-Mediated Immunity in the Neonate. In: Pollard, A.J., Finn, A. (eds) Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children III. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 582. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-33026-7_6
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