Project description:The prevalence of respiratory allergy in children is increasing. Epigenetic changes (e.g. DNA methylation) are plausible underlying molecular mechanisms. Longitudinal birth cohorts are instrumental to study the relation between early-life environmental factors and the development of complex diseases. Our AXA Research Fund and Cefic-LRI supported project explores the hypothesis that chemical exposures during pregnancy can influence the immune system and development of allergy in children. Questionnaire data, as well as cord blood, plus blood and saliva samples at age 11 years, were collected in substudies of two longitudinal birth cohorts in Belgium (FLEHS1 & FLEHS2) and analyzed with Illumina Methylation 450K BeadChips as well as gene targeted iPLEX MassArrays analysis. The project aims to answer the following questions: 1) can we identify specific changes in epigenetic modifications on DNA from allergic compared to not-allergic children; 2) are these allergy-related epigenetic changes a result of chemical exposure during pregnancy; and 3) did the early life exposures leave an epigenetic “mark” that is maintained through childhood. If chemicals exposures and resulting predictive markers of allergic diseases can be detected early, prevention strategies, particularly in children or before pregnancy, could be developed.
Project description:Here we studied the epigenetic regulation of the naïve CD4+ T-cell activation response among children with IgE-mediated food allergy. Using integrated DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiling, we found that food allergy in infancy is associated with dysregulation of T-cell activation genes. Reduced expression of cell cycle related targets of the E2F and MYC transcription factor networks, and remodeling of DNA methylation at metabolic (RPTOR, PIK3D, MAPK1, FOXO1) and inflammatory genes (IL1R, IL18RAP, CD82) were associated with poorer T-lymphoproliferative responses in infancy after polyclonal activation of the T-cell receptor.
Project description:Here we studied the epigenetic regulation of the naïve CD4+ T-cell activation response among children with IgE-mediated food allergy. Using integrated DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiling, we found that food allergy in infancy is associated with dysregulation of T-cell activation genes. Reduced expression of cell cycle related targets of the E2F and MYC transcription factor networks, and remodeling of DNA methylation at metabolic (RPTOR, PIK3D, MAPK1, FOXO1) and inflammatory genes (IL1R, IL18RAP, CD82) were associated with poorer T-lymphoproliferative responses in infancy after polyclonal activation of the T-cell receptor.
Project description:Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the expression profile in whole blood samples of children infected with respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viruses. Method: Host mRNA profiles in whole blood samples of children were generated by next-generation sequencing using Illumina Hiseq. Sequence reads were trimmed for adapter using skewer, mapped to reference human genome using STAR, and quantified using RSEM. Differential expression analysis was performed using DESeq2. Results: Transcriptional module analysis revealed dysregulation of genes related to inflammatory response, neutrophils, monocytes, B-cell and T-cell response. Conclusion: This study showed an imbalance in innate and adaptive immune responses in children with respiratory virus infections. This study also showed that NGS provides a comprehensive assessment of transcripts in whole blood samples.
Project description:The objective of the study was to investigate how oral immunotherapy (OIT) for food allergy modulates inflammation and immune cell responses. The blood cell transcriptome of 50 children receiving egg OIT was profiled using peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples obtained at baseline and after 3 and 8 months of OIT.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE19182: Gene expression profiling of differentiated HNECs stimulated by IL4, IL13, IFNalpha, IFNbeta, IFNgamma and controls GSE19187: Nasal epithelium gene expression profiling in child respiratory allergic disease Refer to individual Series
Project description:Peanut allergy is increasingly prevalent among children in the United States and other industrialized countries and is now estimated to affect approximately 2% of children. While there are currently no approved treatment options, peanut allergy usually persists into adulthood, can be life-threatening, and accounts for most deaths related to food allergy. Here, we track peanut-reactive CD4+ T effector (pTeff) cells using the CD154 up-regulation assay. We found that CRTH2+ pTeff cells and CCR6+ pTeff cells represent two mutually exclusive, non-overlapping cellular and molecular entities involved in food allergic diseases.
Project description:The BAMSE (Swedish abbreviation for Children, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology) study is an ongoing longitudinal, population-based prospective birth cohort including 4,089 children born between 1994 and 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden. The cohort was initially designed to study risk factors for asthma, allergic diseases and lung function in childhood, and to study factors of importance for prognosis at already established disease.Questionnaires on respiratory symptoms and medication were answered at age of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 years. Response rates ranged from 96-82% at each occasion with very minor selection bias over the years. Exposure to air pollutants and other environmental factors has been mapped since birth.At the 8 and 16 year follow-up, spirometry and FeNO measurements were performed and at the latter, impulse oscillometry was measured. Blood samples (including plasma) from around 2,500 children were taken at 4, 8 and 16 years and have been analyzed for different IgE-ab and biomarkers. Genome-wide genetic, global methylation and transcriptomic data exist on a subset of the children.
Project description:Allergy is one of the most common diseases among young children yet all factors that affect development of allergy remain unclear. In a small cohort of 65 children living in the same rural area of south-west Sweden, we have previously found that maternal factors, including prenatal diet, affect childhood allergy risk, suggesting that in utero conditions may be important for allergy development. Here, we studied if metabolites in the umbilical cord blood of newborns may be related to development of childhood allergy, accounting for key perinatal factors such as mode of delivery, birth order and sex. Umbilical cord blood plasma samples from 44 of the participants were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics; allergy was diagnosed by specialised paediatricians at ages 18 months, 36 months and 8 years and included eczema, asthma, food allergy and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Nineteen cord blood metabolites were related to future allergy diagnosis though was no clear pattern of up- or downregulation of metabolic pathways. In contrast, perinatal factors birth order, sex and mode of delivery affected several energy and biosynthetic pathways, including glutamate and aspartic acid - histidine metabolism (p=0.004) and the tricarboxylic acid cycle (p=0.006) for birth order; branched chain amino acid metabolism (p=0.0009) and vitamin B6 metabolism (p=0.01) for sex; and glyoxylate and dicarboxylic acid metabolism (p=0.005) for mode of delivery. In conclusion, the cord blood metabolome includes individual metabolites that reflect lifestyle, microbial and other factors that may also be associated with future allergy diagnosis, and also reflects temporally close events/factors. Larger studies are required to confirm these associations, and perinatal factors such as birth order or siblings must be considered in future cord-blood metabolome studies.