title: Offspring IgE responses are influenced by levels of maternal IgG transferred in early life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Maternal immune responses may interfere with offspring allergy development as maternal immunization may suppress IgE development, while maternal allergy may promote allergy. Therefore, we investigated the effect of two different maternal treatments on airway allergy in female and male offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant mice were immunized (IMM) with ovalbumin (OVA) or immunized and airway-challenged (IMM+AI). At different ages, airway allergy to OVA was induced in offspring by intranasal sensitization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal IgG1 was found at higher levels in IMM+AI than in IMM offspring. After sensitization, the suppression of OVA-specific IgE and IgG1 was complete in juvenile offspring but waned with age concurrently with maternal IgG1 levels. Cytokine secretion, lung inflammation, and B cell priming were not suppressed although IgE responses were.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High compared with low levels of maternal IgG1 were associated with lower TH 2 antibody production after adult offspring were re-exposed to OVA. Thus, offspring allergy-related responses appeared to be shaped by maternal antibody levels.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jitka S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andreassen
authors.forename: Unni C
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Nygaard
authors.forename: Martinus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Løvik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired / Q000276:immunology; D007114:Immunization; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D010047:Ovalbumin
keywords: Allergy; maternal antibodies; mouse model; ovalbumin; sensitization