In the new study, researchers tested only the immune system’s ability to respond to a new pathogen, essentially eliminating any contribution from immunological memories.
For the head-to-head comparison, they collected immune cells that have never encountered a pathogen from both infant and adult mice. The cells were then placed into an adult mouse infected with a virus.
The T cells from infant mice detected lower levels of the virus than adult cells and the infant cells proliferated faster and traveled in greater numbers to the site of infection, building a strong defense against the COVID-19 virus.
A laboratory comparison found similar enhancements among human infants compared to adult T cells. This shows that infant immune system is much better than the adult since it’s designed to respond to a multitude of new pathogens.
That appears to be playing out in the case of COVID-19, which is new to absolutely everybody. Adults faced with a novel pathogen are slower to react. That gives the virus a chance to replicate more, and cause more complications.
The findings also help explain why vaccines are particularly effective in childhood when T cells are very robust and this could also lead to better vaccine designs.
Source: Medindia
