Immune Vulnerability of Infants to Tuberculosis
Joint Authors
Fink, Pamela J.
Marais, Ben J.
Urdahl, Kevin B.
Persson, Alexander
Vanden Driessche, Koen
Source
Clinical and Developmental Immunology
Issue
Vol. 2013, Issue 2013 (31 Dec. 2013), pp.1-16, 16 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2013-05-13
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
16
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
One of the challenges faced by the infant immune system is learning to distinguish the myriad of foreign but nonthreatening antigens encountered from those expressed by true pathogens.
This balance is reflected in the diminished production of proinflammatory cytokines by both innate and adaptive immune cells in the infant.
A downside of this bias is that several factors critical for controlling Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are significantly restricted in infants, including TNF, IL-1, and IL-12.
Furthermore, infant T cells are inherently less capable of differentiating into IFN-γ-producing T cells.
As a result, infected infants are 5–10 times more likely than adults to develop active tuberculosis (TB) and have higher rates of severe disseminated disease, including miliary TB and meningitis.
Infant TB is a fundamentally different disease than TB in immune competent adults.
Immunotherapeutics, therefore, should be specifically evaluated in infants before they are routinely employed to treat TB in this age group.
Modalities aimed at reducing inflammation, which may be beneficial for adjunctive therapy of some forms of TB in older children and adults, may be of no benefit or even harmful in infants who manifest much less inflammatory disease.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Vanden Driessche, Koen& Persson, Alexander& Marais, Ben J.& Fink, Pamela J.& Urdahl, Kevin B.. 2013. Immune Vulnerability of Infants to Tuberculosis. Clinical and Developmental Immunology،Vol. 2013, no. 2013, pp.1-16.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-497492
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Vanden Driessche, Koen…[et al.]. Immune Vulnerability of Infants to Tuberculosis. Clinical and Developmental Immunology No. 2013 (2013), pp.1-16.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-497492
American Medical Association (AMA)
Vanden Driessche, Koen& Persson, Alexander& Marais, Ben J.& Fink, Pamela J.& Urdahl, Kevin B.. Immune Vulnerability of Infants to Tuberculosis. Clinical and Developmental Immunology. 2013. Vol. 2013, no. 2013, pp.1-16.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-497492
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-497492