The neonatal window of opportunity-early priming for life.

University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany. Electronic address: harald.renz@uk-gm.de. University of Miami, Miami, Fla. University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY. Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. Care and Public Health Research Institute (Caphri) & NUTRIM School for Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Chair in Human Lactology, School of Molecular Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Dr von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany; Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), Member of the German Center for Lung Research, Munich, Germany. New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY. Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass. RWTH University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.

The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2018;(4):1212-1214

Abstract

The concept of the neonatal window of opportunity assigns the early postnatal period a critical role for lifelong host-microbial and immune homeostasis. It is supported by epidemiological evidence that links postnatal environmental exposure with disease susceptibility and mechanisms in the neonate host that facilitate the postnatal transposition, establish a stable microbiome, and promote immune maturation. During the conference on “The neonatal window of opportunity – early priming for life,” postnatal micro-biome and immune maturation, epidemiological evidence, and fundamental mechanisms were discussed to identify new targets for future preventive and interventional measures. From December 5 to 7, 2016, the Herrenhausen Conference “The neonatal window of opportunity – early priming for life” took place at Hannover, Germany, sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation. The concept of the “neonatal window of opportunity,” that is, a critical nonredundant time frame in a newborn’s life during which environmental factors drive immune and tissue maturation and influence the susceptibility to immune-mediated and other diseases in adult life, was discussed.

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