Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Birth represents a functional watershed in the developing immune system. In utero, the fetus is exposed to a constant barrage of “foreign” antigens that are derived mainly from the mother and must downregulate its immune responses to survive. However, after…
Key Points The neonate and the young infant depend primarily on the innate immune system for host defense. With limited prior exposure to infectious and environmental antigens, the adaptive immune arm is still in a phase of structural and functional…