title: Antifungal Immunological Defenses in Newborns.
abstract: Newborns are prone to fungal infections, largely due toCandidaspecies. The immunological basis for this vulnerability is not yet fully understood. However, useful insights can be gained from the knowledge of the maturation of immune pathways during ontogeny, particularly when placed in context with how rare genetic mutations in humans predispose to fungal diseases. In this article, we review these most current data on immune functions in human newborns, highlighting pathways most relevant to the response toCandida. While discussing these data, we propose a framework of why deficiencies in these pathways make newborns particularly vulnerable to this opportunistic pathogen.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michalski
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Pascal M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lavoie
keywords: Candida; fungus; humans; immunology; infection; neonate; prematurity