Early immunological development and mortality from infectious disease in later life

Sophie E. Moore; Andrew C. Collinson; Pa Tamba N'Gom; Richard Aspinall; Andrew M. Prentice

doi:10.1079/PNS2006503

Early immunological development and mortality from infectious disease in later life

Sophie E. Moore
, Andrew C. Collinson
, Pa Tamba N'Gom
, Richard Aspinall
, Andrew M. Prentice

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

69 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In rural Gambia the risk of mainly infection-related mortality is 10-fold higher for adults born in the nutritionally-debilitating 'hungry' season, suggesting that immune function may be compromised by events early in life. The current programme of research focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying this hypothesis, exploring early-life environmental influences on immune development and the long-term functional consequences these influences may have. Results obtained to date show that thymus development during infancy is critically sensitive to environmental exposures, with smaller thymuses observed in the hungry season. Measurement of the frequency of T-cell receptor excision circles indicate that thymus function is also sensitive to seasonal influences, with further studies implicating variations in breast-milk JL-7 as a possible mediator of these effects. Studies in adults have shown that size at birth is positively correlated with antibody responses to vaccination with polysaccharide antigens, thus providing evidence for long-term functional deficits. The present paper will review progress made to date within this field of research.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	311-318
Number of pages	8
Journal	Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
Volume	65
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1079/PNS2006503
Publication status	Published - Aug 2006
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The work presented in the present review is the product of a dedicated team working within the UK Medical Research Council’s Nutrition Programme in The Gambia, and at collaborative field sites in Bangladesh and Pakistan. We specifically acknowledge the MINIMat study team, especially Dr Shams El Arifeen and Dr Yukiko Wagat-suma, for their contribution to the collection of the thymus ultrasound data in Bangladesh, and we thank Professor Fehmida Jalil and Professor Lars Å. Hanson for their leadership on the Lahore studies. This work was primarily funded by the UK Medical Research Council, with additional support from the Nestlé Foundation. Ethical permission for the Gambian studies was granted by the joint UK Medical Research Council/Gambian Government Ethics Committee. For work in Pakistan approval was given by the Medical Ethics Committee for Research, King Edward Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan and by the Ethics Committee of Göteborg University, Sweden. In Bangladesh ethical permission was granted by the Research Review Committee and the Ethical Review Committee, ICDDR,B-Centre for Health and Population Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh. All studies were conducted with informed consent from all subjects and/or their parents or guardians.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Gambia
Immune function
Programming
Thymus
Vaccine response

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Medicine (miscellaneous)
Nutrition and Dietetics

Access to Document

10.1079/PNS2006503

Cite this

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title = "Early immunological development and mortality from infectious disease in later life",

abstract = "In rural Gambia the risk of mainly infection-related mortality is 10-fold higher for adults born in the nutritionally-debilitating 'hungry' season, suggesting that immune function may be compromised by events early in life. The current programme of research focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying this hypothesis, exploring early-life environmental influences on immune development and the long-term functional consequences these influences may have. Results obtained to date show that thymus development during infancy is critically sensitive to environmental exposures, with smaller thymuses observed in the hungry season. Measurement of the frequency of T-cell receptor excision circles indicate that thymus function is also sensitive to seasonal influences, with further studies implicating variations in breast-milk JL-7 as a possible mediator of these effects. Studies in adults have shown that size at birth is positively correlated with antibody responses to vaccination with polysaccharide antigens, thus providing evidence for long-term functional deficits. The present paper will review progress made to date within this field of research.",

keywords = "Gambia, Immune function, Programming, Thymus, Vaccine response",

author = "Moore, \{Sophie E.\} and Collinson, \{Andrew C.\} and N'Gom, \{Pa Tamba\} and Richard Aspinall and Prentice, \{Andrew M.\}",

year = "2006",

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doi = "10.1079/PNS2006503",

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volume = "65",

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journal = "Proceedings of the Nutrition Society",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Early immunological development and mortality from infectious disease in later life

AU - Moore, Sophie E.

AU - Collinson, Andrew C.

AU - N'Gom, Pa Tamba

AU - Aspinall, Richard

AU - Prentice, Andrew M.

PY - 2006/8

Y1 - 2006/8

N2 - In rural Gambia the risk of mainly infection-related mortality is 10-fold higher for adults born in the nutritionally-debilitating 'hungry' season, suggesting that immune function may be compromised by events early in life. The current programme of research focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying this hypothesis, exploring early-life environmental influences on immune development and the long-term functional consequences these influences may have. Results obtained to date show that thymus development during infancy is critically sensitive to environmental exposures, with smaller thymuses observed in the hungry season. Measurement of the frequency of T-cell receptor excision circles indicate that thymus function is also sensitive to seasonal influences, with further studies implicating variations in breast-milk JL-7 as a possible mediator of these effects. Studies in adults have shown that size at birth is positively correlated with antibody responses to vaccination with polysaccharide antigens, thus providing evidence for long-term functional deficits. The present paper will review progress made to date within this field of research.

AB - In rural Gambia the risk of mainly infection-related mortality is 10-fold higher for adults born in the nutritionally-debilitating 'hungry' season, suggesting that immune function may be compromised by events early in life. The current programme of research focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying this hypothesis, exploring early-life environmental influences on immune development and the long-term functional consequences these influences may have. Results obtained to date show that thymus development during infancy is critically sensitive to environmental exposures, with smaller thymuses observed in the hungry season. Measurement of the frequency of T-cell receptor excision circles indicate that thymus function is also sensitive to seasonal influences, with further studies implicating variations in breast-milk JL-7 as a possible mediator of these effects. Studies in adults have shown that size at birth is positively correlated with antibody responses to vaccination with polysaccharide antigens, thus providing evidence for long-term functional deficits. The present paper will review progress made to date within this field of research.

KW - Gambia

KW - Immune function

KW - Programming

KW - Thymus

KW - Vaccine response

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/33847323111

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DO - 10.1079/PNS2006503

M3 - Article

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AN - SCOPUS:33847323111

SN - 0029-6651

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IS - 3

ER -

Early immunological development and mortality from infectious disease in later life

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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