CD4 T cell programming by neonatal and early-life infection

T淋巴细胞(T细胞)是一种白细胞，在保护身体免受感染方面发挥着关键作用。在T细胞能够发挥作用之前，需要对它们进行编程，以便它们能够对感染性病原体(一种细菌或病毒)做出特定的反应。不适当的编程可能会导致疾病。T细胞对感染物或异物的反应是保护性的还是破坏性的，关键取决于一个人首次感染的年龄。我们的项目将识别生命中将T细胞编程引导到随后的保护性或破坏性反应的关键时期，为正在发育的免疫系统提供新的见解，这些免疫系统可能被用来治疗疾病或开发疫苗。

T lymphocytes (T cells) are white blood cells that play a critical role in protecting the body from infection. Before T cells can function they need to be programmed so that they can specifically respond to an infectious agent (a type of bacteria or virus). Inappropriate programming can lead to disease. Whether T cells respond to an infectious agent or foreign substance in a protective or destructive manner may critically depend on the age that an individual first encounters the infection. Our project will identify critical periods in life that direct T cell programming to subsequent protective or destructive responses, providing new insights into the developing immune system that may be exploited to treat disease or develop vaccines.