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Allergies,also known as allergic diseases,are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever,food allergies,atopic dermatitis,allergic asthma,and anaphylaxis. Symptoms may include red eyes,an itchy rash,sneezing,coughing,a runny nose,shortness of breath,or swelling. Note that food intolerances and food poisoning are separate conditions.
The human microbiome is the aggregate of all microbiota that reside on or within human tissues and biofluids along with the corresponding anatomical sites in which they reside,including the skin,mammary glands,seminal fluid,uterus,ovarian follicles,lung,saliva,oral mucosa,conjunctiva,biliary tract,and gastrointestinal tract. Types of human microbiota include bacteria,archaea,fungi,protists,and viruses. Though micro-animals can also live on the human body,they are typically excluded from this definition. In the context of genomics,the term human microbiome is sometimes used to refer to the collective genomes of resident microorganisms;however,the term human metagenome has the same meaning.
In medicine,the hygiene hypothesis states that early childhood exposure to particular microorganisms protects against allergies by strengthening the immune system. In particular,a lack of such exposure is thought to lead to poor immune tolerance. The time period for exposure begins before birth and ends at school age.
A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food. The symptoms of the allergic reaction may range from mild to severe. They may include itchiness,swelling of the tongue,vomiting,diarrhea,hives,trouble breathing,or low blood pressure. This typically occurs within minutes to several hours of exposure. When the symptoms are severe,it is known as anaphylaxis. A food intolerance and food poisoning are separate conditions,not due to an immune response.
Gnotobiosis refers to an engineered state of an organism in which all forms of life in or on it,including its microbiota,have been identified. The term gnotobiotic organism,or gnotobiote,can refer to a model organism that is colonized with a specific community of known microorganisms or that contains no microorganisms (germ-free) often for experimental purposes. The study of gnotobiosis and the generation of various types of gnotobiotic model organisms as tools for studying interactions between host organisms and microorganisms is referred to as gnotobiology.
Gut microbiota,gut microbiome,or gut flora,are the microorganisms,including bacteria,archaea,fungi,and viruses,that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut microbiota. The gut is the main location of the human microbiome. The gut microbiota has broad impacts,including effects on colonization,resistance to pathogens,maintaining the intestinal epithelium,metabolizing dietary and pharmaceutical compounds,controlling immune function,and even behavior through the gut–brain axis.
Paneth cells are cells in the small intestine epithelium,alongside goblet cells,enterocytes,and enteroendocrine cells. Some can also be found in the cecum and appendix. They are located below the intestinal stem cells in the intestinal glands and the large eosinophilic refractile granules that occupy most of their cytoplasm.
Germ-free organisms are multi-cellular organisms that have no microorganisms living in or on them. Such organisms are raised using various methods to control their exposure to viral,bacterial or parasitic agents. When known microbiota are introduced to a germ-free organism,it usually is referred to as a gnotobiotic organism,however technically speaking,germ-free organisms are also gnotobiotic because the status of their microbial community is known. Due to lacking a microbiome,many germ-free organisms exhibit health deficits such as defects in the immune system and difficulties with energy acquisition. Typically germ-free organisms are used in the study of a microbiome where careful control of outside contaminants is required.
Dysbiosis is characterized by a disruption to the microbiome resulting in an imbalance in the microbiota,changes in their functional composition and metabolic activities,or a shift in their local distribution. For example,a part of the human microbiota such as the skin flora,gut flora,or vaginal flora,can become deranged,with normally dominating species underrepresented and normally outcompeted or contained species increasing to fill the void. Dysbiosis is most commonly reported as a condition in the gastrointestinal tract.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to immunology:
Long-term close-knit interactions between symbiotic microbes and their host can alter host immune system responses to other microorganisms,including pathogens,and are required to maintain proper homeostasis. The immune system is a host defense system consisting of anatomical physical barriers as well as physiological and cellular responses,which protect the host against harmful microorganisms while limiting host responses to harmless symbionts. Humans are home to 1013 to 1014 bacteria,roughly equivalent to the number of human cells,and while these bacteria can be pathogenic to their host most of them are mutually beneficial to both the host and bacteria.
Microbiota are the range of microorganisms that may be commensal,mutualistic,or pathogenic found in and on all multicellular organisms,including plants. Microbiota include bacteria,archaea,protists,fungi,and viruses,and have been found to be crucial for immunologic,hormonal,and metabolic homeostasis of their host.
Mucosal immunology is the study of immune system responses that occur at mucosal membranes of the intestines,the urogenital tract,and the respiratory system. The mucous membranes are in constant contact with microorganisms,food,and inhaled antigens. In healthy states,the mucosal immune system protects the organism against infectious pathogens and maintains a tolerance towards non-harmful commensal microbes and benign environmental substances. Disruption of this balance between tolerance and deprivation of pathogens can lead to pathological conditions such as food allergies,irritable bowel syndrome,susceptibility to infections,and more.
Mary Hewitt Loveless was an American physician and immunologist who specialized in allergies. She is best known for her discovery that Hymenoptera insect venom allergies could be treated with extracts of the insects' venom sacs.
Vaginal seeding, also known as microbirthing,is a procedure whereby vaginal fluids are applied to a new-born child delivered by caesarean section. The idea of vaginal seeding was explored in 2015 after Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello discovered that birth by caesarean section significantly altered the newborn child's microbiome compared to that of natural birth. The purpose of the technique is to recreate the natural transfer of bacteria that the baby gets during a vaginal birth. It involves placing swabs in the mother's vagina,and then wiping them onto the baby's face,mouth,eyes and skin. Due to the long-drawn nature of studying the impact of vaginal seeding,there are a limited number of studies available that support or refute its use. The evidence suggests that applying microbes from the mother's vaginal canal to the baby after cesarean section may aid in the partial restoration of the infant's natural gut microbiome with an increased likelihood of pathogenic infection to the child via vertical transmission.
Yasmine Belkaid is an Algerian immunologist and senior investigator at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She is best known for her work studying host-microbe interactions in tissues and immune regulation to microbes. Belkaid currently serves as the director of the NIAID Microbiome program. On 29 March 2023,she was appointed as President of the Pasteur Institute for a six-year term,starting from January 2024.
Human milk immunity is the protection provided to the immune system of an infant via the biologically active components in human milk. Human milk was previously thought to only provide passive immunity primarily through Secretory IgA,but advances in technology have led to the identification of various immune-modulating components. Human milk constituents provide nutrition and protect the immunologically naive infant as well as regulate the infant's own immune development and growth.
Emma Allen-Vercoe is a British-Canadian Molecular biologist who is a Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Guelph. Her research considers the gut microbiome and microbial therapeutics to treat Escherichia coli.
Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello is a Venezuelan-American microbial ecologist that has worked on adaptations of gut fermentation organs in animals,gastric colonization by bacteria,assembly of the microbiota in early life,effect of practices that reduce microbiota transmission and colonization in humans,and effect of urbanization. She is the Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health at Rutgers University,New Brunswick. Her lab at collaborates in multidisciplinary science,integrating microbiology,immunology,pediatrics,nutrition,anthropology,environmental engineering and architecture/urban studies,and microbial ecology.
Roman Dziarski is a Polish-born American immunologist and microbiologist. He is best known for his research on innate immunity and bacterial peptidoglycan,for discovering the family of human peptidoglycan recognition proteins,which comprises PGLYRP1,PGLYRP2,PGLYRP3,and PGLYRP4,and for defining the functions of these proteins.
References
- 1 2 3 Landhuis, Esther (May 21, 2020). "Could gut microbes be key to solving food allergies?". Knowable Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Cathryn R. Nagler". University of Chicago. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- 1 2 "Faculty members receive named, distinguished service professorships". University of Chicago. July 6, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ Bashir, Mohamed Elfatih H.; Louie, Steven; Shi, Hai Ning; Nagler-Anderson, Cathryn (June 1, 2004). "Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling by Intestinal Microbes Influences Susceptibility to Food Allergy". Journal of Immunology . 172 (11): 6978–6987. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.172.11.6978 . PMID 15153518 . Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ Reiter, Carla (October 27, 2016). "Scientist builds drug development company out of research lab". University of Chicago. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ Shelton, LeeAnn (May 9, 2019). "Meet the Polsky Center Startup Taking on Food Allergies". Chicago Booth Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ Marantz Henig, Robin (December 17, 2019). "How trillions of microbes affect every stage of our life—from birth to old age". National Geographic. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ Goodwin, Ryan (January 28, 2020). "Cathryn Nagler recognized for outstanding contributions to immunology". University of Chicago. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Study in twins identifies fecal microbiome differences in food allergies". Science Daily. January 19, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Cathryn R. Nagler". University of Chicago. Retrieved June 11, 2021.