Abstract
Evaluation of: Verhasselt V, Milcent V, Cazareth J et al. Breast milk-mediated transfer of an antigen induces tolerance and protection from allergic asthma. Nat. Med. 14(2), 170–175 (2008).
Allergic asthma affects up to 20% of the population in developed countries, with increasing incidence. Lessons from epidemiologic studies suggest that increased emphasis on hygiene, coupled with decreasing frequency of childhood infections, may explain this rise in asthma. The present study demonstrates that maternal transfer of allergen plus immunoregulatory factors via breast milk can influence the developing immune response in the offspring, inducing the tolerant rather than the allergic phenotype. Taken with studies of pre- and postnatal early antigen exposure, these data suggest that learning to regulate responses to aeroallergens depends upon the maternal immune status, the composition of breast milk and the offspring’s exposure to environmental stimuli. Extension of these findings may, ultimately, provide strategies for the prevention of asthma in children.
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Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
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