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T Cells in Preterm Infants and the Influence of Milk Diet by Sproat, Thomas ;Payne, Rebecca Pamela ;Embleton, Nicholas D. ;Berrington, Janet ;Hambleton, Sophie is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

Preterm infants born before 32 weeks gestational age (GA) have high rates of late onset sepsis (LOS) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) despite recent improvements in infection control and nutrition. Breast milk has a clear protective effect against both these outcomes likely due to multiple mechanisms which are not fully understood but may involve effects on both the infant's immune system and the developing gut microbiota. Congregating at the interface between the mucosal barrier and the microbiota, innate and adaptive T lymphocytes (T cells) participate in this interaction but few studies have explored their development after preterm delivery. We conducted a literature review of T cell development that focuses on fetal development, postnatal maturation and the influence of milk diet. The majority of circulating T cells in the preterm infant display a naïve phenotype but are still able to initiate functional responses similar to those seen in term infants. T cells from preterm infants display a skew toward a T-helper 2(T~h~2) phenotype and have an increased population of regulatory cells (T~reg~s). There are significant gaps in knowledge in this area, particularly in regards to

Author

Sproat, Thomas ;Payne, Rebecca Pamela ;Embleton, Nicholas D. ;Berrington, Janet ;Hambleton, Sophie

Publisher

Frontiers; Frontiers Media SA; Frontiers Media S.A.; Lausanne: Frontiers Media S.A., 2010- (ISSN 1664-3224)

Published

2020

Language

EN