Indtoduction - Hygiene hypothesis

11 important questions on Indtoduction - Hygiene hypothesis

What is the hygiene hypothesis?

Children with many siblings have less hay fever because they are exposed to germs.

Which changes in lifestyle led to a change in microbial exposure?

1. Rural to urban living
2. Slow food to fast food
3. Physical labour to sitting professions
4. Outdoors to indoors
5. More isolation, central heating and less humid in houses
6. Prevention and treatment of infectious diseases (improved sanitation)

What is the Old Friends hypothesis?

Microorganisms , Old Friends, that were once abundant, trained our immune system. Our immune system has evolved in their continuous presence.
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What did studies show on the association between helminths and atopy/asthma?

For atopy, helminth infections show a protective association. For asthma, different worms show different associations. However, there is a lot of inconsistency in human studies.

Which responses happen when you get infected with a helminth? And how does this affect the immune response to allergens?

In the acute stage, you get a type2 immunity peak.
After time, you see regulatory T cells developing.
This leads to spill over suppression to helminth antigens and bystander antigens (eg allergens).
Therefore, also immune responses to allergens are being reduced.

What can regulatory T cells do?

1. Downregulate effector T-cell responses
2. Affect antigenpresentation
3. Work on B-cells
4. Inhibit cells of innate immune system

Which responses do you get in the acute stage and in the chronic state/infancy? Ant what effect do they have on allergy/inflammatory

Acute: type 2, pro-allergic/pro-inflammatory
Chronic/infancy: type 1, anti-allergic/anti-inflammatory

What is the role of Tcells in the hygiene hypothesis?

The 2 kinds of T-helper cells, Th1 and Th2, must be in balance for proper immune system function. A lack of microorganisms during development leads to a decrease in Th1 and an increase in Th2, causing more Th2 related reactions such as allergies.

Why is the early time window important?

In this time, the immune system is still susceptible to modulation and microbial signals. You get regulatory responses

How do gut microbiota influence digestion?

Bacteria help digest indigestible fibers. They also produce metabolites, such as SCFAs (acetate, butyrate &propionate). They result from fermentation of dietary fibers.

Why are SCFAs important for the immune system?

1. They play an important role on the epithelial cells, making the barrier more tight
2. They act on the mucous production and the tight junction molecules between epithelial cells
3. They act on effector T-helper cells, such as TH1 and Th17 that make sure there is an increased immunity towards pathogens
4. They act on dendritic cells and macrophages, which leads to the upregulation of regulatory T-cells and the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL10

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