Maternal house dust mite exposure during pregnancy enhances severity of HDM-induced asthma in murine offspring

Publication date: Available online 9 February 2017
Source:Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Author(s): Phoebe K. Richgels, Amnah Yamani, Claire A. Chougnet, Ian P. Lewkowich
BackgroundAtopic status of the mother and maternal exposure to environmental factors is associated with increased asthma risk. Moreover, animal models demonstrate that exposure to allergens in strongly sensitized mothers influences offspring asthma development, suggesting that in utero exposures can influence offspring asthma. However, it is unclear whether maternal exposure to common human allergens like house dust mite (HDM), in the absence of additional adjuvants, influences offspring asthma development.ObjectiveTo determine if maternal HDM exposure influences asthma development in offspring.MethodsPregnant female mice were exposed to PBS or HDM during pregnancy. Using offspring of PBS or HDM-exposed mothers, the magnitude of HDM or Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) extract-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), airway inflammation, immunoglobulin production, Th2-associated cytokine synthesis and pulmonary dendritic cell activity was assessed.ResultsCompared to offspring of PBS-exposed mothers, offspring of HDM-exposed mothers demonstrate increased AHR, airway inflammation, Th2 cytokine production, immunoglobulin levels and a modest decrease in the phagocytic capacity of pulmonary macrophage populations following HDM exposure. Increased sensitivity to AF-induced airway disease was not observed. Offspring of HDM-exposed B cell deficient mothers also demonstrated increased HDM-induced AHR, suggesting transfer of maternal immunoglobulins is not required.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that maternal exposure to HDM during pregnancy increases asthma sensitivity in offspring in an HDM-specific manner, suggesting that vertical transmission of maternal immune responses may be involved. These findings have important implications for regulation of asthma risk, and suggest that exposure to HDM in the developed world may have under-appreciated influences on the overall prevalence of allergic asthma.



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