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Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Newborns are frequently affected by mucocutaneous candidiasis. Th17 cells essentially limit mucosal invasion by commensal <jats:italic>Candida<\/jats:italic> spp. Here, we sought to understand the molecular basis for the developmental lack of Th17 cell responses in circulating blood neonatal T cells. Naive cord blood CD4 T cells stimulated in Th17-differentiating conditions inherently produced high levels of the interleukin-22 immunoregulatory cytokine, particularly in the presence of neonatal antigen-presenting cells. A genome-wide transcriptome analysis comparing neonatal and adult na\u00efve CD4 T cells <jats:italic>ex vivo<\/jats:italic> revealed major developmental differences in gene networks regulating Small Drosophila Mothers Against Decapentaplegic (SMAD) and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling. These changes were functionally validated by experiments showing that the requirement for TGF-\u03b2 in human Th17 cell differentiation is age-dependent. Moreover, STAT3 activity was profoundly diminished while overexpression of the <jats:italic>STAT3<\/jats:italic> gene restored Th17 cell differentiation capacity in neonatal T cells. These data reveal that Th17 cell responses are developmentally regulated at the gene expression level in human neonates. These developmental changes may protect newborns against pathological Th17 cell responses, at the same time increasing their susceptibility to mucocutaneous candidiasis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2021.655027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,3]],"date-time":"2021-05-03T05:10:55Z","timestamp":1620018655000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Neonatal T Helper 17 Responses Are Skewed Towards an Immunoregulatory Interleukin-22 Phenotype"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Hamid R.","family":"Razzaghian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zohreh","family":"Sharafian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ashish 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