Editorial: Sustained Effects of Early Nutrition on Immune Development and Microbiome-Immune Crosstalk

Abstract

Non-communicable diseases associated with immune system dysfunction are an increasing challenge for twenty-first century medicine. There is growing evidence that predisposition to many such conditions originate during early-life "programming events." This term refers to critical points of developmental plasticity where changes in environmental factors have long-term effects on physiological development, including the development of the immune system. From birth, the neonatal immune system develops rapidly in response to external stimuli, primarily from the intestinal microbiota and nutrition, and this pattern of development is essential in adult immune functionality and competence. Nutritional components of the early diet including antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, folate, and other vitamins can directly influence immunity. This is by shifting the structure and/or functions of different immune cell populations and hematopoietic organs, and also by modulating gene expression and various signaling pathways in immune cells that contribute to homeostasis. Non-digestible oligosaccharides and their metabolites can also drive differential immune development indirectly through modification of both the composition and the metabolic activity of the gut microbiota. While current literature indicates the existence of a dynamic interplay between the immune system, nutrition and the intestinal microbiota, the molecular interactions and pathways involved in this cross-talk are complex and poorly characterized.