Infections continue to represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality during the first month of life. According to the WHO, bacterial neonatal sepsis, lower respiratory infections, tetanus and diarrhoea account for 36% of neonatal death worldwide. Moreover, neonatal sepsis and meningitis still account for a significant proportion of death and long-term morbidity among preterm neonates in Western countries. Apart from antibiotics and supportive care, we currently lack other effective therapeutic tools to prevent and treat neonatal sepsis, which is partially due to our incomplete understanding of the neonatal immune function and response, before and during infections. Indeed, complex and unique mechanisms regulate the interaction between the host and environmental microorganisms in early life: the neonatal immune system has to maintain a continuous balance between tolerance towards commensal microorganisms, necessary to build up a physiological microbiome, and the ability to mount effective humoral and cell-mediated responses against invading pathogens. This balance is especially critical at the level of the respiratory and gastrointestinal mucosae that are the major sites of contact between microorganisms and the immune system. Thus, up-to-date clinical and mechanistic data linking the occurrence of neonatal infections and the immunological mechanisms of host/microorganisms interaction are needed to improve our understanding of neonatal infections. New evidence is needed to clarify:
• How prenatal stimuli, including maternal diet and microbial compounds, can affect the development of the neonatal immune system
• The immunological mechanisms regulating the progression of neonatal sepsis
• The definition of neonatal sepsis and implications that the different definitions may have
• New therapeutic options to regulate the function of the neonatal immune system as a complementary approach to antimicrobial therapy
• How maternal and neonatal immunisation may be harnessed to reduce the burden of neonatal infections
• How the interaction between the neonatal immune system and the microbiota at mucosal interfaces can contribute to shape the immune function itself.
In this Research Topic, we would welcome manuscripts that address the complex interplay between the host immune system and infectious agents within the first 28 days of life. The project is open to articles that present novel evidence on
- defining, diagnosing, and treating neonatal infections
- observational and experimental evidence regarding new aspects of immune system development
- inherited and environmental factors that may influence the function of the neonatal immune system itself.
The following article type are welcome: Original Research, Hypothesis and Theory, Review, Systematic Review, Mini Review, Opinion and Perspective.
Infections continue to represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality during the first month of life. According to the WHO, bacterial neonatal sepsis, lower respiratory infections, tetanus and diarrhoea account for 36% of neonatal death worldwide. Moreover, neonatal sepsis and meningitis still account for a significant proportion of death and long-term morbidity among preterm neonates in Western countries. Apart from antibiotics and supportive care, we currently lack other effective therapeutic tools to prevent and treat neonatal sepsis, which is partially due to our incomplete understanding of the neonatal immune function and response, before and during infections. Indeed, complex and unique mechanisms regulate the interaction between the host and environmental microorganisms in early life: the neonatal immune system has to maintain a continuous balance between tolerance towards commensal microorganisms, necessary to build up a physiological microbiome, and the ability to mount effective humoral and cell-mediated responses against invading pathogens. This balance is especially critical at the level of the respiratory and gastrointestinal mucosae that are the major sites of contact between microorganisms and the immune system. Thus, up-to-date clinical and mechanistic data linking the occurrence of neonatal infections and the immunological mechanisms of host/microorganisms interaction are needed to improve our understanding of neonatal infections. New evidence is needed to clarify:
• How prenatal stimuli, including maternal diet and microbial compounds, can affect the development of the neonatal immune system
• The immunological mechanisms regulating the progression of neonatal sepsis
• The definition of neonatal sepsis and implications that the different definitions may have
• New therapeutic options to regulate the function of the neonatal immune system as a complementary approach to antimicrobial therapy
• How maternal and neonatal immunisation may be harnessed to reduce the burden of neonatal infections
• How the interaction between the neonatal immune system and the microbiota at mucosal interfaces can contribute to shape the immune function itself.
In this Research Topic, we would welcome manuscripts that address the complex interplay between the host immune system and infectious agents within the first 28 days of life. The project is open to articles that present novel evidence on
- defining, diagnosing, and treating neonatal infections
- observational and experimental evidence regarding new aspects of immune system development
- inherited and environmental factors that may influence the function of the neonatal immune system itself.
The following article type are welcome: Original Research, Hypothesis and Theory, Review, Systematic Review, Mini Review, Opinion and Perspective.
