Your immune roots

Did you know that your immune system starts developing before you are even born?

In your body, certain cells called macrophages (literally “big eaters”) work every day to protect you.

• They repair your tissues,
• remove dead cells,
• and help you fight infections.

What is less well known is that these macrophages appear when you are still just an embryo. And depending on what happens during pregnancy (infection, inflammation, etc.), their “programming” can change and influence your health years later.

Elisa Gomez Perdiguero, a researcher at the Institut Pasteur, is studying how the immune system develops in the early stages of life. With her team, she is seeking to understand how these cells shape our defenses and our ability to heal throughout our lives.

By learning more about our immune origins, we can better understand how to protect ourselves in the future.

(video in french, english subtitles available translated by AI)