Final Report Summary - HYGIENEANDIMMUNITY (Mechanisms of hygiene-mediated immune dysregulation and impact on the susceptibility to allergic and autoimmune diseases)
Although live bacteria are confined to the mucosa, studies have shown that products from the intestinal microbiota can easily reach systemic sites in the body. We therefore questioned whether the developing immune system could be influenced by the microbiota of the mother prior to birth. We found that the maternal microbiota can influence neonatal immune development already starting in utero. We could show that antibodies from the mother transfer microbial products across the placenta and into the maternal milk and these products help to shape the developing innate immune system so that it is prepared to face the challenge of colonization with its own microbiota at birth.
Innate and adaptive immunity are clearly heavily influenced by microbial colonization and we have further investigated how the development and function of key innate immune cells in the intestine. Although this work is ongoing, we are defining the key molecular and cellular pathways by which our microbial partners shape and define our immune system during health and this affects our susceptibility to diseases.