Ontogeny of the Immune Response

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with the origin and development of immune response. The initial morphological studies of congenital diseases from the files of the Institute of Pathology proved quite rewarding. Infections of the fetus with Treponema pallidum and Toxoplasma gondii were accompanied by an impressive plasmacytosis in the lesions themselves, and plasma cells and premature lymphofollicular maturation were also present in the draining lymph nodes and spleen in many cases. A subsequent study of the histopathology of congenital rubella infection suggested that the maturation of immunological capabilities in the human fetus had other interesting implications. Fetuses infected with rubella virus during the first trimester show multiple disorders of development with no signs of inflammation. The chapter includes with a discussion on the timing of acquisition of immunological competence to different antigens in the fetal lamb.