title: Standard of hygiene and immune adaptation in newborn infants.
abstract: The prevalence of immune-mediated diseases, such as allergies and type 1 diabetes, is on the rise in the developed world. In order to explore differences in the gene expression patterns induced in utero in infants born in contrasting standards of living and hygiene, we collected umbilical cord blood RNA samples from infants born in Finland (modern society), Estonia (rapidly developing society) and the Republic of Karelia, Russia (poor economic conditions). The whole blood transcriptome of Finnish and Estonian neonates differed from their Karelian counterparts, suggesting exposure to toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and a more matured immune response in infants born in Karelia. These results further support the concept of a conspicuous plasticity in the developing immune system: the environmental factors that play a role in the susceptibility/protection towards immune-mediated diseases begin to shape the neonatal immunity already in utero and direct the maturation in accordance with the surrounding microbial milieu.
authors.affiliation: Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20521 Turku, Finland; Turku Doctoral Programme of Biomedical Sciences, Kiinamyllynkatu 13, 20520 Turku, Finland; The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland.
authors.forename: Henna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kallionpää
authors.affiliation: Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20521 Turku, Finland; The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland; The National Graduate School in Informational and Structural Biology, 20520 Turku, Finland; Department of Information and Computer Science, Aalto University School of Science, 00076 Aalto, Finland.
authors.forename: Essi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laajala
authors.affiliation: Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20521 Turku, Finland; The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland.
authors.forename: Viveka
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Öling
authors.affiliation: The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland; Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; Diabetes and Obesity Research Program, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Taina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Härkönen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tartu and Tartu University Hospital, 51014 Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Vallo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tillmann
authors.affiliation: Petrozavodsk State University, 185910 Petrozavodsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Natalya V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Dorshakova
authors.affiliation: Immunogenetics Laboratory, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Microbiology, University of Eastern Finland, 70210 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Jorma
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ilonen
authors.affiliation: Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20521 Turku, Finland; The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland; Department of Information and Computer Science, Aalto University School of Science, 00076 Aalto, Finland.
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lähdesmäki
authors.affiliation: The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland; Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; Diabetes and Obesity Research Program, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, 00290 Helsinki, Finland; Department of Pediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, 33521 Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knip
authors.affiliation: Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20521 Turku, Finland; The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland. Electronic address: riitta.lahesmaa@btk.fi.
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lahesmaa
mesh_terms: D004957:Estonia; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005387:Finland; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D005838:Genotype; D015803:HLA-DR3 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012426:Russia; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D015803:HLA-DR3 Antigen; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen; D012313:RNA
keywords: Cord blood; Gene expression; Hygiene hypothesis; Immune adaptation; Innate immunity; Newborn infant