Fetal public Vγ9Vδ2 T cells expand and gain potent cytotoxic functions early after birth.
- Journal:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1922595117
- Affiliations:
- 7
- Authors:
- 12
Research Highlight
Immune cells gain potency soon after birth
© Elena Popova/Moment/Getty Images
Immune cells that form in the developing fetus expand and mature rapidly after birth, providing a first line of defence against infections. The findings challenge the conventional wisdom that early-life immune responses are fairly weak and point to microbe exposure shaping the immune repertoire of newborns.
A team from the University of Cape Town and elsewhere studied a group of immune cells known as gamma delta T cells that can recognize a broad range of foreign substances.
They found that, within 10 weeks of birth, these T cells from healthy infants were already expanding and differentiating into potent immune attack-dogs, with similar functions to those of immune cells from adults.
Vaccination with the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin jab for tuberculosis — a potent stimulator of gamma delta T cells — did not alter the T-cell response observed in newborns, suggesting that environmental cues are the main drivers of immune cell adaptation in early life.
References
- PNAS 117, 18638–18648 (2020). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1922595117
Institutions | Authors | Share |
---|---|---|
University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa | 0.50 | |
UCT South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI), South Africa | 0.25 | |
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium | 0.25 |