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Vaccinations and Neonatal Immunity

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Neonatology

Abstract

The fetus can be compared to a haploidentical graft, sharing only half of the histocompatibility antigens of the “mother host”. As such, the fetus should be rejected by the immune system of the mother. At the same time, since the fetal immune system starts developing around the 9th week of gestation, the fetus should also mount a “graft-versus-host” reaction against those histocompatibility antigens that it has not inherited from the “mother host”. It follows that survival of the fetus - indeed of all mammalian species - is strictly dependent on a wide variety of mechanisms preventing graft rejection by the mother and graft-versus-host reaction by the fetus [1]. Among the latter, a major role is certainly played by the slow intrauterine maturation of the fetal immune function, ultimately resulting in the physiological immune deficiency of the neonate that involves both innate and adaptive immunity. This immune immaturity - more severe in preterm and in very low birth weight infants - results in a weak immune response to antigen challenge and in the production of a poor immunological memory [2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Medicine, Bambino Gesù Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Alberto G. Ugazio

Authors
  1. Alberto G. Ugazio
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  2. Alberto E. Tozzi
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, Division of Neonatology, University of Siena General Hospital S. Maria alle Scotte Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy

    Giuseppe Buonocore (Professor of Pediatrics and Neonatology, Head of School of Pediatrics) (Professor of Pediatrics and Neonatology, Head of School of Pediatrics)

  2. University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Rodolfo Bracci (Formerly Professor of Pediatrics and Head of Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine) (Formerly Professor of Pediatrics and Head of Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine)

  3. University of Liverpool, UK

    Michael Weindling (Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Director of Postgraduate Research, Head of School of Paediatrics Mersey Deanery) (Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Director of Postgraduate Research, Head of School of Paediatrics Mersey Deanery)

  4. Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Institute of Translational Medicine, Liverpool, UK

    Michael Weindling (Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Director of Postgraduate Research, Head of School of Paediatrics Mersey Deanery) (Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Director of Postgraduate Research, Head of School of Paediatrics Mersey Deanery)

  5. Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Liverpool, UK

    Michael Weindling (Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Director of Postgraduate Research, Head of School of Paediatrics Mersey Deanery) (Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Director of Postgraduate Research, Head of School of Paediatrics Mersey Deanery)

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Ugazio, A.G., Tozzi, A.E. (2012). Vaccinations and Neonatal Immunity. In: Buonocore, G., Bracci, R., Weindling, M. (eds) Neonatology. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-1405-3_119

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-1405-3_119

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

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