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January 06, 2003
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U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Neonates Mount Robust and Protective Adult-Like CD8+ T-Cell Responses to DNA Vaccines" Journal of Virology (jvi.asm.org) (12/02) Vol. 76, No. 23, P. 11911; Zhang, Jie; Silvestri, Nicole; Whitton, J. Lindsay
Vaccines made up of plasmid DNA produce both humoral and cell-mediated antimicrobial responses if given to infants within hours of birth, researchers found. This counters previously held ideas that neonates fail to produce vigorous responses until late infancy or early childhood. Vaccines given at birth produce antigen-specific CD8+ T cells that have similar arrays of cytokines to adults. Therefore, immunizations at birth can be as successful as immunizations in older children, the researchers concluded.
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