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Editorial
. 2018 Apr;141(4):1212-1214.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.019. Epub 2017 Dec 14.

The neonatal window of opportunity-early priming for life

Harald Renz  1 , Becky D Adkins  2 , Sina Bartfeld  3 , Richard S Blumberg  4 , Donna L Farber  5 , Johan Garssen  6 , Peter Ghazal  7 , David J Hackam  8 , Benjamin J Marsland  9 , Kathy D McCoy  10 , John Penders  11 , Immo Prinz  12 , Valerie Verhasselt  13 , Erika von Mutius  14 , Jeffrey N Weiser  15 , Duane R Wesemann  16 , Mathias W Hornef  17
Affiliations
Editorial

The neonatal window of opportunity-early priming for life

Harald Renz et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

The concept of the neonatal window of opportunity assigns the early postnatal period a critical role for lifelong host-microbial and immune homeostasis. It is supported by epidemiological evidence that links postnatal environmental exposure with disease susceptibility and mechanisms in the neonate host that facilitate the postnatal transposition, establish a stable microbiome, and promote immune maturation. During the conference on “The neonatal window of opportunity – early priming for life,” postnatal micro-biome and immune maturation, epidemiological evidence, and fundamental mechanisms were discussed to identify new targets for future preventive and interventional measures.

From December 5 to 7, 2016, the Herrenhausen Conference “The neonatal window of opportunity – early priming for life” took place at Hannover, Germany, sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation. The concept of the “neonatal window of opportunity,” that is, a critical nonredundant time frame in a newborn’s life during which environmental factors drive immune and tissue maturation and influence the susceptibility to immune-mediated and other diseases in adult life, was discussed.

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Figures

FIG 1.
FIG 1.
New mechanisms of microbe-immune interaction. For details please see text. iNKT, Invariant natural killer T cells; TLR 4, Toll-like receptor 4.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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