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Medicinal Chemistry Reviews - Online (Discontinued)

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1567-2034
ISSN (Online): 1567-2034

Pandemic of Atopic Diseases - A Lack of Microbial Exposure in Early Infancy?

Author(s): M. Kalliomaki

Volume 2, Issue 4, 2005

Page: [299 - 302] Pages: 4

DOI: 10.2174/1567203054637588

Price: $65

Abstract

An increase in the frequency of allergic diseases during last several decades has been linked to improved hygienic conditions. This review focuses on a few recent findings in this extensive field. Accumulative data suggest that a spectrum of CD4+T cells, including type 3 T helper cells, T regulatory 1 cells, CD25+T cells, and natural killer T cells, has a crucial role in the regulation of allergic inflammation. Farming environments, found protective against atopic diseases, contain great amounts of microbial compounds, pathogen-associated molecular patterns, which have been shown to induce activation of immunomodulatory genes. These microbe-derived signals are mediated by pattern-recognition receptors which activate different signal transduction pathways in immune and non-myeloid cells. Both pathogens and commensals express these immunomodulatory components. Better understanding of the mechanisms operative in situ may result in new probiotic and other microbe-derived therapies against allergic diseases.

Keywords: allergy, atopic disease, gut microbiota, hygiene hypothesis, probiotics


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