Plasticity of neuroendocrine and immune systems in early development

This article provides an analysis of our own and published data on the reciprocal morphogenetic influence of the neuroendocrine and immune systems on their formation and function in mammals. It is substantiated that, in early ontogeny, neurohormones regulate the growth and differentiation of various tissues in the body, including the lymphoid tissue. Thymic peptides, in turn, affect the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and gonadal systems. Various adverse factors and changes in the physiological concentrations of hormones in the critical periods of development of these systems change their functions, and the plasticity of physiological systems in early ontogeny allows the body to adapt to new conditions. Disturbances in the interaction of the neuroendocrine and immune systems in the perinatal period induce a predisposition to various diseases in progeny.