title: Maternal house dust mite exposure during pregnancy enhances severity of house dust mite-induced asthma in murine offspring.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atopic status of the mother and maternal exposure to environmental factors are 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 such as house dust mite (HDM), in the absence of additional adjuvants, influences offspring asthma development.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to determine whether maternal HDM exposure influences asthma development in offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant 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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with offspring of PBS-exposed mothers, offspring of HDM-exposed mothers demonstrate increased AHR, airway inflammation, TH2 cytokine production, and 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 that transfer of maternal immunoglobulins is not required.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our 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 underappreciated influences on the overall prevalence of allergic asthma.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Phoebe K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Richgels
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Amnah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamani
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Claire A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chougnet
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. Electronic address: Ian.Lewkowich@cchmc.org.
authors.forename: Ian P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Lewkowich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides / Q000276:immunology; D000946:Antigens, Fungal / Q000276:immunology; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000276:immunology; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000276:immunology*; D039981:Pyroglyphidae / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D000946:Antigens, Fungal; D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Asthma; allergen; environment; maternal exposures; pregnancy