Project description:The prevalence of atopic diseases has increased with atopic dermatitis (AD) as the earliest manifestation. We assessed if molecular risk factors in atopic mothers influence their offsprings’ susceptibility to an atopic disease. Pairs of pregnant women and their infants with or without parental atopy were followed over the first 2 years of life. Global DNA methylation and differentially methylated regions (DMR) were determined in atopic and non-atopic mothers. During the first 2 years of life, AD was more prevalent in children of atopic compared to non-atopic mothers with an increase in food sensitization in children with AD. 165 DMRs distinguished atopic from non-atopic mothers. Maternal atopy combined with DMRs increased the offsprings’ predicted risk to develop AD from an odds ratio of 2.56 to 4.26.
Project description:Influenza virus transmission between mothers and nursing-infants has not been investigated although mothers and infants often develop severe disease. Ferrets are considered the most appropriate model for influenza studies. We investigated influenza transmission in infant and nursing-mother ferrets. Influenza infected infants transmitted virus to mother mammary glands leading to live virus excretion in milk and influenza virus positive mammary gland epithelial cells. Global gene expression analysis showed down-regulation of milk production and induction of breast involution and oncogenesis pathways. Our results provide insight into influenza transmission between mothers and infants which may impact fields of infectious disease, maternal/infant health and neoplasm etiology.
Project description:Influenza virus transmission between mothers and nursing-infants has not been investigated although mothers and infants often develop severe disease. Ferrets are considered the most appropriate model for influenza studies. We investigated influenza transmission in infant and nursing-mother ferrets. Influenza infected infants transmitted virus to mother mammary glands leading to live virus excretion in milk and influenza virus positive mammary gland epithelial cells. Global gene expression analysis showed down-regulation of milk production and induction of breast involution and oncogenesis pathways. Our results provide insight into influenza transmission between mothers and infants which may impact fields of infectious disease, maternal/infant health and neoplasm etiology.
Project description:Influenza virus transmission between mothers and nursing-infants has not been investigated although mothers and infants often develop severe disease. Ferrets are considered the most appropriate model for influenza studies. We investigated influenza transmission in infant and nursing-mother ferrets. Influenza infected infants transmitted virus to mother mammary glands leading to live virus excretion in milk and influenza virus positive mammary gland epithelial cells. Global gene expression analysis showed down-regulation of milk production and induction of breast involution and oncogenesis pathways. Our results provide insight into influenza transmission between mothers and infants which may impact fields of infectious disease, maternal/infant health and neoplasm etiology. Total RNA was obtained from nursing mother ferret mammary glands at days 3/4 and 6/7 post-intranasal kit infection with 10^5 EID50 A/California/07/2009 (H1N1). Total RNA was also collected from uninfected control nursing mother mammary gland tissues (n = 3). Changes in gene expression relative to uninfected tissue controls were then investigated.
Project description:Influenza virus transmission between mothers and nursing-infants has not been investigated although mothers and infants often develop severe disease. Ferrets are considered the most appropriate model for influenza studies. We investigated influenza transmission in infant and nursing-mother ferrets. Influenza infected infants transmitted virus to mother mammary glands leading to live virus excretion in milk and influenza virus positive mammary gland epithelial cells. Global gene expression analysis showed down-regulation of milk production and induction of breast involution and oncogenesis pathways. Our results provide insight into influenza transmission between mothers and infants which may impact fields of infectious disease, maternal/infant health and neoplasm etiology. Total RNA was obtained from ferret lungs at days 3 and 6 post-intranasal infection with 10^5 EID50 A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) (n = 3/time-point). Total RNA was also collected from uninfected control lung tissues (n = 3). Changes in gene expression relative to uninfected tissue controls were then investigated.
Project description:Maternal secretor status is one of the determinants of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) composition, which in turn changes the gut microbiota composition of infants. To understand if this change in gut microbiota impacts immune cell composition, intestinal morphology and gene expression, day 21-old germ-free mice were transplanted with fecal microbiota from infants whose mothers were either secretors (SMM) or non-secretors (NSM) or from infants consuming dairy-based formula (MFM). For each group, one set of mice was supplemented with HMOs. HMO supplementation did not significantly impact the microbiota diversity however, SMM mice had higher abundance of genus Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, and Blautia, whereas, in the NSM group, there were higher abundance of Akkermansia, Enterocloster, and Klebsiella. In MFM, gut microbiota was represented mainly by Parabacteroides, Ruminococcaceae_unclassified, and Clostrodium_sensu_stricto. In mesenteric lymph node, Foxp3+ T cells and innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2) were increased in MFM mice supplemented with HMOs while in the spleen, they were increased in SMM+HMOs mice. Similarly, serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) was also elevated in MFM+HMOs group. Distinct global gene expression of the gut was observed in each microbiota group, which was enhanced with HMOs supplementation. Overall, our data shows that distinct infant gut microbiota due to maternal secretor status or consumption of dairy-based formula and HMO supplementation impacts immune cell composition, antibody response and intestinal gene expression in a mouse model.
Project description:The objective of the present study was to identify the nutrient utilization and the SCFA production potential of gut microbes during the first year of life. The 16S sequencing data represents 100 mother-child pairs, longitudinally for the infants (0, 3mo, 6mo and 12mo) and mothers 18 weeks pregnancy. We wanted to identify the SCFA composition in pregnant woman and their infants through the first year of life, and their correlation to gut bacteria and other influencal factors. Metaproteomics on selected infants were analyzed to look for nutrient sources used by potential SCFA producers.
Project description:Children who grow up on farms have a lower risk of developing childhood atopic disease. Although human milk proteins are heavily glycosylated, there is a lack of studies investigating the milk glycoproteome. In this study, we have used label-free quantitative proteomics to analyze milk samples from Rochester and Older Order Mennonite mothers, two populations with different lifestyles, exposures, and risk of allergic disease. We identified multiple N-glycopeptides with significantly different abundances between the two communities and four N-glycopeptides that may have a protective effect against the development of atopic disease. The findings of this study indicate that the differential glycosylation of milk proteins may affect the development of atopic disease, something previously uninvestigated.
Project description:We compared genomic DNA methylation patterns and gene expression in African American children with persistent atopic asthma versus healthy controls. We identified 119 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and 118 differentially methylated probes (DMPs) after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, batch effects, inflation, and multiple comparisons (false discovery rate-adjusted q<0.05). Genes differentially methylated include those with established roles in asthma and atopy, components of the extracellular matrix, genes related to immunity, cell adhesion, epigenetic regulation, and airway obstruction. Hypo- and hypermethylated genes were associated with increased and decreased gene expression respectively (P<2.8x10-6 for DMRs and P<7.8x10-10 for DMPs). Quantitative analysis of methylation-expression relationships in 53 differentially expressed genes demonstrated that 32 (60%) have significant (q<0.05) methylation-expression relationships within 5kb of the gene. 10 loci selected based on the relevance to asthma, magnitude of methylation change, and asthma specific methylation-expression relationships were validated in an independent cohort of children with asthma. case control design with nasal epithelial cells from 36 atopic asthmatic and 33 nonatopic nonasthmatic children from the inner city
Project description:Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a key player in the pathogenesis of atopic diseases. Its pathophysiological relevance has sparked great interest in therapeutically targeting TSLP. Yet, so far, no small-mo lecule TSLP inhibitors exist due to the challenging nature of disrupting the protein-protein interaction between TSLP and its receptor. Here, we report the development of small-molecule TSLP receptor inhibitors using structure- based virtual screening and docking of >1,000,000 compounds followed by iterative chemical synthesis. BP79 emerged as our lead compound that effectively abrogates TSLP-triggered cytokine release at low micromolar concentrations. Topical application of BP79 yields efficient skin absorption followed by significant downregulation of atopy-relevant proinflammatory cytokines in immunocompetent skin disease models. For further analysis, we developed a human atopic disease drug discovery platform using microfluidic multi-organ chips. Here, topical application of BP79 onto atopic-like skin disease models that were co -cultivated with lung models in the presence of Th2 cells effectively suppressed immune cell infiltration and key atopy mediators including IL-13, IL-4, TSLP, and periostin, while upregulating skin barrier prote ins such as filaggrin. RNA-Seq analysis corroborated these findings and also indicated protective downstream effects on the lung epithelium. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first report of a po tent and safe small molecule TSLPR inhibitor which has the potential to expand the therapeutic and preventive options in atopic diseases. Further, it serves as a starting point for further developments in target ing TSLP as a central player of inflammation.