Can breastfeeding help prevent allergies? Role of allergens, TGF-beta and specific IgG and IgA antibodies in colostrum

• Grant number: 12/51290-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2013
• End date: July 09, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Condino Neto
• Grantee: Patricia Macchiaverni
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

According to the recent International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, it is estimated that 300 million people currently have asthma among which 2/3 are children. Chronicity of the disease and absence of curative treatment make of primary prevention a public health priority and there is an urgent need to identify risk and protective factors. Studies suggest that efficient prevention of allergic disease should be based on the induction in early life of tolerogenic immune responses to environmental allergens. Recently, the co-supervisor of this proposal, Valérie Verhasselt, demonstrated in a mouse model that breastfeeding prevented asthma by inducing oral tolerance in the breastfed progeny. Breastfeeding-induced tolerance required the presence in maternal milk of both allergen and tolerogenic co-factors, i.e. TGF-beta and/or allergen-specific IgG. The next step of this study refers to our project and aim to analyze the effect of these factors in human milk on children's allergy development. For this purpose, we will have access to a subgroup of the EDEN (study of pre- and early postnatal determinants of the child's development and health) mother-child cohort: 300 mother-child pairs samples from whom a colostrum sample is available and had their child follow-up data until 5 years old. We will investigate the relationship between breast-feeding, the presence of c-beta, antigens and specific maternal antibodies in milk and the incidence of allergies in the child. Moreover, we want to investigate whether there is any correlation between airborne allergens in breast milk with maternal environmental exposure to house dust mite. We believe that the tolerogenic potential of human milk is unique and dependends on its composition. Possible differences among mothers could explain the controversies among studies assessing the protective role of maternal milk in allergic diseases. The identification of new predictive factors for protection from allergic diseases through breastfeeding can lead to new recommendations for breastfeeding practices. (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BAIZ, NOUR; MACCHIAVERNI, PATRICIA; TULIC, MERI K.; REKIMA, AKILA; ANNESI-MAESANO, ISABELLA; VERHASSELT, VALERIE; GRP, EDEN MOTHER-CHILD COHORT STUDY. Early oral exposure to house dust mite allergen through breast milk: A potential risk factor for allergic sensitization and respiratory allergies in children. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, v. 139, n. 1, p. 369+, JAN 2017. (12/51290-6)

MACCHIAVERNI, P.; REKIMA, A.; TURFKRUYER, M.; MASCARELL, L.; AIROUCHE, S.; MOINGEON, P.; ADEL-PATIENT, K.; CONDINO-NETO, A.; ANNESI-MAESANO, I.; PRESCOTT, S. L.; et al. Respiratory allergen from house dust mite is present in human milk and primes for allergic sensitization in a mouse model of asthma. ALLERGY, v. 69, n. 3, p. 395-398, MAR 2014. (12/51290-6)

REKIMA, A.; MACCHIAVERNI, P.; TURFKRUYER, M.; HOLVOET, S.; DUPUIS, L.; BAIZ, N.; ANNESI-MAESANO, I.; MERCENIER, A.; NUTTEN, S.; VERHASSELT, V.. Long-term reduction in food allergy susceptibility in mice by combining breastfeeding-induced tolerance and TGF-beta-enriched formula after weaning. CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, v. 47, n. 4, p. 565-576, APR 2017. (12/51290-6)

MACCHIAVERNI, PATRICIA; YNOUE, LEANDRO H.; ARSLANIAN, CHRISTINA; VERHASSELT, VALERIE; CONDINO-NETO, ANTONIO. Early Exposure to Respiratory Allergens by Placental Transfer and Breastfeeding. PLoS One, v. 10, n. 9, SEP 23 2015. (12/51290-6)

XU, CHENG-JIAN; BONDER, MARC JAN; SODERHALL, CILLA; BUSTAMANTE, MARIONA; BAIZ, NOUR; GEHRING, ULRIKE; JANKIPERSADSING, SOESMA A.; VAN DER VLIES, PIETER; VAN DIEMEN, CLEO C.; VAN RIJKOM, BIANCA; et al. The emerging landscape of dynamic DNA methylation in early childhood. BMC Genomics, v. 18, JAN 5 2017. (12/51290-6)

MACCHIAVERNI, PATRICIA; BAIZ, NOUR; REKIMA, AKILA; ANNESI-MAESANO, ISABELLA; VERHASSELT, VALERIE. Oral exposure to mite allergens: Sensitizer or tolerogenic? Reply. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, v. 143, n. 2, p. 808-809, FEB 2019. (12/51290-6)

CARAMASCHI, DORETTA; NEUMANN, ALEXANDER; CARDENAS, ANDRES; TINDULA, GWEN; ALEMANY, SILVIA; ZILLICH, LEA; PESCE, GIANCARLO; LAHTI, JARI M. T.; HAVDAHL, ALEXANDRA; MULDER, ROSA; et al. Meta-analysis of epigenome-wide associations between DNA methylation at birth and childhood cognitive skills. MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY, v. 27, n. 4, p. 10-pg., 2022-02-10. (12/51290-6)