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Systems biology and big data in asthma and allergy: recent discoveries and emerging challenges

We describe recent "omic"-level findings, and examine how these findings have been systematically integrated to generate further insight

Immunoinflammatory responses to febrile lower respiratory infections in infants display uniquely complex/intense transcriptomic profiles

the association between infant LRTI and risk for persistent wheeze/asthma in this cohort is generally stronger for fLRTIs than for other infection categories

LPS binding protein and activation signatures are upregulated during asthma exacerbations in children

Asthma exacerbations in children are associated with respiratory viral infection and atopy, resulting in systemic immune activation and infiltration of immune cells into the airways. The gene networks driving the immune activation and subsequent migration of immune cells into the airways remains incompletely understood. Cellular and molecular profiling of PBMC was employed on paired samples obtained from atopic asthmatic children during acute virus-associated exacerbations and later during convalescence.

Single cell transcriptomics reveals cell type specific features of developmentally regulated responses to lipopolysaccharide between birth and 5 years

Human perinatal life is characterized by a period of extraordinary change during which newborns encounter abundant environmental stimuli and exposure to potential pathogens. To meet such challenges, the neonatal immune system is equipped with unique functional characteristics that adapt to changing conditions as development progresses across the early years of life, but the molecular characteristics of such adaptations remain poorly understood.

Maternal diet modulates the infant microbiome and intestinal Flt3L necessary for dendritic cell development and immunity to respiratory infection

Poor maternal diet during pregnancy is a risk factor for severe lower respiratory infections in the offspring, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that in mice a maternal low-fiber diet led to enhanced LRI severity in infants because of delayed plasmacytoid dendritic cell recruitment and perturbation of regulatory T cell expansion in the lungs.

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization of the nasopharynx is associated with increased severity during respiratory syncytial virus infection in young children

The present study aimed to clarify the effect of viral and bacterial co-detections on disease severity during paediatric acute respiratory infection (ARI).

Epigenome-wide analysis links SMAD3 methylation at birth to asthma in children of asthmatic mothers

We sought to assess whether the trajectory to asthma begins already at birth and whether epigenetic mechanisms, contribute to asthma inception.

Tracking of Vitamin D status from childhood to early adulthood and its association with peak bone mass

There are moderate associations between vitamin D status measured in prepuberty, adolescence, and early adulthood

Mannitol challenge testing for asthma in a community cohort of young adults

We aimed to quantify the diagnostic utility of mannitol challenge testing for asthma in a community cohort and a symptomatic wheezing subset of this cohort.

Protection against maternal infection-associated fetal growth restriction: Proof-of-concept with a microbial-derived immunomodulator

This study suggests that broad-spectrum protection-of-pregnancy against infection-associated inflammatory stress represents an achievable therapeutic goal