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Review
. 2015 Jun 19;370(1671):20140148.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0148.

Factors influencing innate immunity and vaccine responses in infancy

Beate Kampmann  1 , Christine E Jones  2
Affiliations
Review

Factors influencing innate immunity and vaccine responses in infancy

Beate Kampmann et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Despite significant progress in reducing the burden of mortality in children under the age of five, reducing mortality in newborns remains a major challenge. Infection plays a significant role in infant deaths and interventions such as early vaccination or antenatal immunization could make a significant contribution to prevention of such deaths. In the last few years, we have gained new insights into immune ontogeny and are now beginning to understand the impact of vaccines, nutrition and environmental factors on 'training' of the immune response in early life. This review article sets out to explain why vaccine responses can be heterogeneous between populations and individuals by providing examples chosen to illustrate the impact of host, pathogen and environmental factors on shaping the immune 'interactome' in young children.

Keywords: BCG vaccine; immune ontogeny; maternal immunization; vaccine responses.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Key factors known to influence early infant immunity and responses to vaccines. (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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