Birth after preeclamptic pregnancies: association with allergic sensitization and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in late childhood; a historically matched cohort study

Research article

Kristine Kjer Byberg, Bjorn Ogland, Geir Egil Eide and Knut Øymar

Author Affiliations

For all author emails, please log on.

BMC Pediatrics 2014, 14:101  doi:10.1186/1471-2431-14-101

Published: 11 April 2014

Abstract (provisional)

Background

The development of allergic sensitization and allergic disease may be related to factors during intrauterine life, but the role of maternal preeclampsia is not known. We studied if maternal preeclampsia is associated with long-term allergic sensitization, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma and with altered lung function in late childhood.

Methods

617 children participated in a 1:2 matched and controlled historical cohort study; 230 born after preeclamptic pregnancies and 387 born after normotensive pregnancies. Specific IgE in serum and lung function were measured at the age of 12.8 years and questionnaires on maternal and adolescent data were completed at the ages of 10.8 years (girls) and 11.8 years (boys), and at 12.8 years (both genders). The association between birth after preeclampsia and the main outcome measures allergic sensitization, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma and lung function in late childhood were analysed with multiple regression analyses, including possible confounders.

Results

Severe maternal preeclampsia was associated with high level allergic sensitization (sum of specific IgE in serum >= 3.9 kU/l; the 25 percentile for all children being sensitized); odds ratio (OR): 3.79; 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.54, 9.32); p = 0.015 and with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in offspring; OR: 2.22, 95% CI: (1.19, 4.14), p = 0.047. Preeclampsia was not associated with atopic dermatitis, asthma or altered lung function in late childhood.

Conclusion

Maternal preeclampsia was associated with allergic sensitization and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in offspring in late childhood, but not with other atopic diseases.

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

Association of serum Clara cell protein CC16 with respiratory infections and immune response to respiratory pathogens in elite athletes

Research

Marcin Kurowski, Janusz Jurczyk, Marzanna Jarz¿bska, Sylwia Moskwa, Joanna S Makowska, Hubert Krysztofiak and Marek L Kowalski

Author Affiliations

For all author emails, please log on.

Respiratory Research 2014, 15:45  doi:10.1186/1465-9921-15-45

Published: 15 April 2014

Abstract (provisional)

Background

Respiratory epithelium integrity impairment caused by intensive exercise may lead to exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Clara cell protein (CC16) has anti-inflammatory properties and its serum level reflects changes in epithelium integrity and airway inflammation. This study aimed to investigate serum CC16 in elite athletes and to seek associations of CC16 with asthma or allergy, respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and immune response to respiratory pathogens.

Methods

The study was performed in 203 Olympic athletes. Control groups comprised 53 healthy subjects and 49 mild allergic asthmatics. Serum levels of CC16 and IgG against respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae were assessed. Allergy questionnaire for athletes was used to determine symptoms and exercise pattern. Current versions of ARIA and GINA guidelines were used when diagnosing allergic rhinitis and asthma, respectively.

Results

Asthma was diagnosed in 13.3% athletes, of whom 55.6% had concomitant allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis without asthma was diagnosed in 14.8% of athletes. Mean CC16 concentration was significantly lower in athletes versus healthy controls and mild asthmatics. Athletes reporting frequent RTIs had significantly lower serum CC16 and the risk of frequent RTIs was more than 2-fold higher in athletes with low serum CC16 (defined as equal to or less than 4.99 ng/ml) . Athletes had significantly higher anti-adenovirus IgG than healthy controls while only non-atopic athletes had anti-parainfluenza virus IgG significantly lower than controls. In all athletes weak correlation of serum CC16 and anti-parainfluenza virus IgG was present (R = 0.20, p < 0.01). In atopic athletes a weak positive correlations of CC16 with IgG specific for respiratory syncytial virus (R = 0.29, p = 0.009), parainfluenza virus (R = 0.31, p = 0.01) and adenovirus (R = 0.27, p = 0.02) were seen as well.

Conclusions

Regular high-load exercise is associated with decrease in serum CC16 levels. Athletes with decreased CC16 are more susceptible to respiratory infections. Atopy may be an additional factor modifying susceptibility to infections in subjects performing regular high-load exercise.

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

Childhood Overweight/Obesity and Pediatric Asthma: The Role of Parental Perception of Child Weight Status

Nutrients 2013, 5(9), 3713-3729; doi:10.3390/nu5093713

Project Report

Salma M. A. Musaad ¹, Katie N. Paige ², Margarita Teran-Garcia ^2,3, Sharon M. Donovan ^2,3, Barbara H. Fiese ^1,*  and the STRONG Kids Research Team ⁴

¹ Family Resiliency Center, Department of Human and Community Development, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 904 W. Nevada, MC-081, Urbana, IL 61801, USA² Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA³ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA⁴ The STRONG Kids Team includes Kristen Harrison, Kelly Bost, Brent McBride, Sharon Donovan, Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, Juhee Kim, Janet Liechty, Angela Wiley, Margarita Teran-Garcia and Barbara Fiese

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 2 July 2013; in revised form: 13 August 2013 / Accepted: 4 September 2013 / Published: 23 September 2013

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Respiratory Disease)

 Download PDF Full-Text [273 KB, uploaded 23 September 2013 08:38 CEST]

Abstract: Childhood obesity and asthma are on the rise in the U.S. Clinical and epidemiological data suggest a link between the two, in which overweight and obese children are at higher risk for asthma. Prevention of childhood obesity is preferred over treatment, however, in order to be receptive to messages, parents must perceive that their child is overweight. Many parents do not accurately assess their child’s weight status. Herein, the relation between parental perceptions of child weight status, observed body mass index (BMI) percentiles, and a measure of child feeding practices were explored in the context of asthma, food allergy, or both. Out of the children with asthma or food allergy that were classified as overweight/obese by BMI percentiles, 93% were not perceived as overweight/obese by the parent. Mean scores for concern about child weight were higher in children with both asthma and food allergy than either condition alone, yet there were no significant differences among the groups in terms of pressure to eat and restrictive feeding practices. In summary, parents of children with asthma or food allergy were less likely to recognize their child’s overweight/obese status and their feeding practices did not differ from those without asthma and food allergy.

Keywords: childhood obesity; pediatric asthma; food allergy; parental perception

Article Statistics

Load and display the download statistics.

Citations to this Article

Load and display citations from CrossRef.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Musaad, S.M.A.; Paige, K.N.; Teran-Garcia, M.; Donovan, S.M.; Fiese, B.H.; the STRONG Kids Research Team Childhood Overweight/Obesity and Pediatric Asthma: The Role of Parental Perception of Child Weight Status. Nutrients 2013, 5, 3713-3729.

AMA Style

Musaad SMA, Paige KN, Teran-Garcia M, Donovan SM, Fiese BH, the STRONG Kids Research Team. Childhood Overweight/Obesity and Pediatric Asthma: The Role of Parental Perception of Child Weight Status. Nutrients. 2013; 5(9):3713-3729.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Musaad, Salma M.A.; Paige, Katie N.; Teran-Garcia, Margarita; Donovan, Sharon M.; Fiese, Barbara H.; the STRONG Kids Research Team. 2013. "Childhood Overweight/Obesity and Pediatric Asthma: The Role of Parental Perception of Child Weight Status." Nutrients 5, no. 9: 3713-3729.

An interaction library for the FcεRI signaling network

HYPOTHESIS & THEORY ARTICLE

Front. Immunol., 15 April 2014 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00172

Lily A. Chylek^1,2, David A. Holowka¹, Barbara A. Baird¹* and

 William S. Hlavacek²*

• 1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
• 2Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division, Center for Non-linear Studies, Los Alamos, NM, USA

Antigen receptors play a central role in adaptive immune responses. Although the molecular networks associated with these receptors have been extensively studied, we currently lack a systems-level understanding of how combinations of non-covalent interactions and post-translational modifications are regulated during signaling to impact cellular decision-making. To fill this knowledge gap, it will be necessary to formalize and piece together information about individual molecular mechanisms to form large-scale computational models of signaling networks. To this end, we have developed an interaction library for signaling by the high-affinity IgE receptor, FcεRI. The library consists of executable rules for protein–protein and protein–lipid interactions. This library extends earlier models for FcεRI signaling and introduces new interactions that have not previously been considered in a model. Thus, this interaction library is a toolkit with which existing models can be expanded and from which new models can be built. As an example, we present models of branching pathways from the adaptor protein Lat, which influence production of the phospholipid PIP3 at the plasma membrane and the soluble second messenger IP3. We find that inclusion of a positive feedback loop gives rise to a bistable switch, which may ensure robust responses to stimulation above a threshold level. In addition, the library is visualized to facilitate understanding of network circuitry and identification of network motifs.

Read Full Text

Keywords: immunoreceptor signaling, IgE receptors (FcεRI), mast cells, knowledge engineering, computational modeling, network motifs, feed-forward loops, visualization

Citation: Chylek LA, Holowka DA, Baird BA and Hlavacek WS (2014) An interaction library for the FcεRI signaling network.Front. Immunol. 5:172. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00172

Received: 11 December 2013; Accepted: 31 March 2014;
Published online: 15 April 2014.

Edited by:

Rob J. De Boer, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Reviewed by:

Christopher E. Rudd, University of Cambridge, UK
Grégoire Altan-Bonnet, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA

Copyright: © 2014 Chylek, Holowka, Baird and Hlavacek. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Barbara A. Baird, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA e-mail: bab13@cornell.edu;
William S. Hlavacek, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division, Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA e-mail: wish@lanl.gov

Sensitizing Properties of Proteins: State of the Science

The Protein Allergenicity Technical Committee of the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) organized a symposium on the sensitizing properties of proteins in Prague in April 2012. Experts discussed known mechanisms by which proteins may cause sensitization, shared information about experimental models for predicting protein sensitizing potential, and explored whether such experimental techniques may be applicable in regulatory settings. In addition to an Executive Summary, three accompanying reviews address the critical factors and methods for assessing allergic sensitization. Publication of this collection was funded by ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, a non-profit organization.

Collection published: 15 April 0014

Last updated: 15 April 2014

	Review    Allergic sensitization: screening methods Gregory S Ladics, Jeremy Fry, Richard Goodman, Corinne Herouet-Guicheney, Karin Hoffmann-Sommergruber, Charlotte B Madsen, André Penninks, Anna Pomés, Erwin L Roggen, Joost Smit, Jean-Michel WalClinical and Translational Allergy 2014, 4:13 (15 April 2014) Abstract | Full text | PDF
	Review    Allergic sensitization: host-immune factors Ronald van Ree, Lone Hummelshøj, Maud Plantinga, Lars K Poulsen, Emily SwindleClinical and Translational Allergy 2014, 4:12 (15 April 2014) Abstract | Full text | PDF
	Review    Allergic sensitization: food- and protein-related factors Scott McClain, Christal Bowman, Montserrat Fernández-Rivas, Gregory S Ladics, Ronald van ReeClinical and Translational Allergy 2014, 4:11 (15 April 2014) Abstract | Full text | PDF
	Review    Sensitizing properties of proteins: executive summary Lars K Poulsen, Gregory S Ladics, Scott McClain, Nancy G Doerrer, Ronald van ReeClinical and Translational Allergy 2014, 4:10 (15 April 2014) Abstract | Full text | PDF

Fungal allergy in asthma-state of the art and research needs

Position article and guidelines

David W Denning, Catherine Pashley, Domink Hartl, Andrew Wardlaw, Cendrine Godet,Stefano Del Giacco, Laurence Delhaes and Svetlana Sergejeva

Author Affiliations

For all author emails, please log on.

Clinical and Translational Allergy 2014, 4:14  doi:10.1186/2045-7022-4-14

Published: 15 April 2014

Abstract (provisional)

Sensitization to fungi and long term or uncontrolled fungal infection are associated with poor control of asthma, the likelihood of more severe disease and complications such as bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. Modelling suggests that >6.5 million people have severe asthma with fungal sensitizations (SAFS), up to 50% of adult asthmatics attending secondary care have fungal sensitization, and an estimated 4.8 million adults have allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). There is much uncertainty about which fungi and fungal allergens are relevant to asthma, the natural history of sensitisation to fungi, if there is an exposure response relationship for fungal allergy, and the pathogenesis and frequency of exacerbations and complications. Genetic associations have been described but only weakly linked to phenotypes. The evidence base for most management strategies in ABPA, SAFS and related conditions is weak. Yet straightforward clinical practice guidelines for management are required. The role of environmental monitoring and optimal means of controlling disease to prevent disability and complications are not yet clear. In this paper we set out the key evidence supporting the role of fungal exposure, sensitisation and infection in asthmatics, what is understood about pathogenesis and natural history and identify the numerous areas for research studies.

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

Short report

Drug allergies in primary care practice in Romania a questionnaire - based survey

Polliana Mihaela Leru

• Correspondence: Polliana Mihaela Leru polianaleru@yahoo.com

Author Affiliations

Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology 2014, 10:16  doi:10.1186/1710-1492-10-16

Published: 1 April 2014

Abstract (provisional)

Introduction

Recent data from literature have shown many difficulties in managing allergic diseases in primary care in most countries and a consequently clear need for standardized educational programmes. Drug allergies represent an important medical issue for general practitioners (GPs) in Romania, though no national data about incidence, severity and management exist.The aim of our study was to evaluate epidemiological aspects of drug allergies in primary care practice in Bucharest, especially the diagnostic and therapeutic attitudes of family doctors and their need for education and training in this field of pathology. Findings A questionnaire with 21specific questions was addressed to 800 family doctors from Bucharest, either directly or via internet, with a response rate of 31,87%.The answers showed a significant interest of GPs in drug allergies, which are considered an increasing pathology. Almost half of the responders had never attended any form of education in allergology and 96% expressed a clear interest to participate in specialized educational programmes. We have noticed an underestimation of the severity of drug allergy, a surprisingly high percentage of allergy skin tests or blood tests recommended by GPs without specialist advice, and persistant confidence in alternative medicine.

Conclusions

We concluded that the attitude towards and the competence regarding drug allergies of GPs in this study, as well as their collaboration with allergists, are not standardized and updated according to current guidelines. Further educational programs for GPs in drug allergies, based on standardized guidelines and national epidemiological studies for evaluation of drug allergy-related morbidity and mortality are needed.

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.