New Way to Boost a Newborn’s Immune System
Reported April 26, 2006
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Researchers may have found a new way to enhance newborns’ immune systems, making vaccines more effective.
A new study from Children’s Hospital Boston reveals one part of a newborn’s immune response can be used to boost immunity. This could potentially lessen the threat of infections like respiratory syncytial virus, pneumococcus, pertussis (whooping cough), HIV and rotavirus.
A group of receptors called Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on the surface of certain white blood cells has been known to be a human’s first line of defense against infection. TLRs detect the presence of invading bacteria and viruses and trigger production of proteins that trigger other immune cells to fight infections.
Results reveal when all but one of the 10 different kinds of TLRs are stimulated, newborns’ immune responses are very impaired. The one TLR is known as TLR8. It triggered a strong immune response in a group of white blood cells crucial for vaccine responses. Researchers say agents that stimulate TLR8 could be used to enhance immune responses in newborns, making it possible to vaccinate them right away, rather than wait until they are 2 months old.
“Birth is a point of contact with healthcare systems,” says Ofer Levy, M.D., Ph.D., lead researcher. “Families may not see a health care provider after that. From a global health perspective, if you can give a vaccine at birth, a much higher percentage of the population can be covered.”
Researchers say TLR8 stimulators could also be given alone, perhaps to help a baby fight off an infection or to prevent a disease. They plan to test their approach in animals and eventually in human babies.
SOURCE: Blood, published online April 25, 2006