Maternal immunization and early-life immunity: Mechanisms shaping neonatal protection.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of mechanisms without systematic review methodology or new human data.
PubMed 41797174 · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128423
What was done
This narrative review synthesized mechanistic evidence on early-life immunity, transplacental IgG transport via FcRn and placental Fc gamma receptors, breast milk immune transfer, maternal microchimerism, and the immunological impacts of maternal vaccination.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical findings or effect sizes. It describes the mechanisms through which maternal vaccination increases pathogen-specific IgG to confer passive immunity via neutralization and Fc-mediated effector functions, notes the occurrence of transient blunting of infant vaccine responses through antigen masking and inhibitory Fc signalling, and concludes that clinical protection outweighs these blunting effects.
Why it matters
Understanding the determinants of maternal antibody transfer and interaction with infant immunity provides mechanistic rationale for optimizing maternal vaccination timing and infant immunization schedules.
Limits
The paper is a narrative review presenting no new empirical data, systematic search methodology, or quantitative effect estimates in the abstract. Quantitative details on clinical outcomes and specific vaccine formulations are not described.