[Assessment of chemotactic activity in newborn infants and during the first year of life (author's transl)].

Chemotactic activity in 58 full term newborn and in infants during the first year of life was studied. Samples were taken from cord blood and blood drawn at three and 15 days after birth and at one, three, six and 12 month of age. Chemotactic activity was assessed by Boyden's technique. It was found that samples obtained before the first month of life had a decrease of function as compared with those of the mothers. Chemotactic indexes were parallel to those of mothers by the end of the first year of life. These findings suggest that impairment of the function observed in infants may be due to a deficit in synthesis of complement factors.