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Satellite Symposium Danone Research & Innovation at DOHaD

Tuesday 17 October 2017, Danone Research & Innovation organised a Satellite Symposium at the DOHaD in Rotterdam.

During this interesting symposium, key speakers (Prof Dr Mihai Netea, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands and Prof Dr Aletta Kraneveld, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands, chaired by Prof Dr Eline van der Beek Danone Research & Innovation, Utrecht / UMCG Groningen, The Netherlands) zoomed in on the development of the immune sys­tem. More specifically on the concept and capacity of training innate immunity, which underlies the responsiveness of the immune system to later challenges throughout life.

Trained Immunity

The protective effects following specific vaccinations in infants are dependent on the trained immunity. Inappropriate activation of trained immunity can lead to excessive inflammation in autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. Therefore, its putative role as well as the long-term consequences of disruptions in early life will be discussed. For instance, early life events (antibiotic use and maternal inflammation) and possibly food allergy play an important role in the development of psychiatric disease.

Gut-microbiome-immune-brain axis

The speakers elaborated on the relevance of gut-microbiome-immune-brain axis in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, based on (pre)clinical data. Both talks shed some light on the importance of immune development in early life and underlying mechanism involved in disease susceptibility.

Click here to find the abstracts of the presentations of the speakers, as well as the 13 presented abstracts of Danone Research & Innovation during the DOHaD conference 2017.