Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Social change, parasite exposure and immune dysregulation: An evolutionary medicine approach

博士论文改进：社会变革、寄生虫暴露和免疫失调：进化医学方法

• 批准号: 1341165
• 负责人: James Snodgrass
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Oregon Eugene
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-15 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1341165&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Social; change

Two recent hypotheses--the Hygiene Hypothesis and the Disappearing Microbiota Hypothesis--argue that the dramatic rise in allergies and autoimmune disorders in industrialized nations stems from decreased exposure to pathogens. These hypotheses posit a mismatch between contemporary lifestyles and the evolved biology of the human species. People living in developed nations such as the United States are experiencing reduced exposure to parasitic worms and bacteria, as well as overall changes to the microbial composition of the gut, compared to individuals living in less developed nations. These changes appear to be resulting in decreased immune stimulation and an increased vulnerability to allergy and autoimmune diseases, which are nearly absent in non-Western populations. The present dissertation study by doctoral student Tara Cepon (University of Oregon), under the supervision of Dr. James Snodgrass, tests both the Hygiene and Disappearing Microbiota Hypotheses among the Shuar, a forager-horticulturalist population from Amazonian Ecuador who are currently experiencing rapid yet uneven cultural change related to integration into the market-based economy. The project examines relationships among social/lifestyle factors, intestinal parasite composition, and immune function and dysregulation among three geographically separated Shuar communities experiencing different degrees of market involvement and related social change. Through household interviews, microscopic and molecular analyses of fecal samples, and biomarkers of immune function, the present project will shed light on patterns of parasite exposure and the role of humans as ecosystems for our parasitic residents, as well as the contribution that these residents make to immune development and function. This study also will advance knowledge of the health effects of cultural change by focusing needed attention on how environmental shifts affect infectious and autoimmune disease prevalence. Beyond these contributions, this study has important implications for public health policy, community outreach, international science partnerships, and education. The research increases our understanding of the effects of market-related changes on health variation among Shuar and, by extension, other populations undergoing cultural change. Further, it has the potential to provide insights that can be used for improving local and global health by identifying lifestyle factors to target when implementing policies to reduce infectious and chronic disease burden. Finally, this project will train a female scientist and will provide research opportunities for undergraduates.

最近有两种假说——“卫生假说”和“微生物群消失假说”——认为，工业化国家过敏和自身免疫性疾病的急剧增加源于病原体接触的减少。这些假设假设了当代生活方式与人类物种进化的生物学之间的不匹配。与生活在欠发达国家的人相比，生活在美国等发达国家的人接触寄生虫和细菌的机会减少了，肠道微生物组成也发生了总体变化。这些变化似乎导致免疫刺激减少，对过敏和自身免疫性疾病的易感性增加，而这些在非西方人群中几乎不存在。俄勒冈大学的博士生Tara Cepon在James Snodgrass博士的指导下进行的论文研究，测试了Shuar人的卫生假说和正在消失的微生物群假说。Shuar人是来自厄瓜多尔亚马逊河流域的一个采食园艺人群，他们目前正经历着与融入市场经济相关的快速但不平衡的文化变革。该项目研究了三个地理上分开的Shuar社区的社会/生活方式因素、肠道寄生虫组成、免疫功能和失调之间的关系，这些社区经历了不同程度的市场参与和相关的社会变化。通过家庭访谈、粪便样本的微观和分子分析以及免疫功能的生物标志物，本项目将阐明寄生虫暴露的模式和人类作为生态系统对寄生居民的作用，以及这些居民对免疫发育和功能的贡献。这项研究还将通过关注环境变化如何影响感染性和自身免疫性疾病的流行，推进对文化变化对健康影响的认识。除了这些贡献之外，本研究对公共卫生政策、社区外展、国际科学伙伴关系和教育也具有重要意义。这项研究增加了我们对与市场有关的变化对Shuar以及其他正在经历文化变革的人群的健康差异的影响的理解。此外，它有可能提供可用于改善地方和全球健康的见解，通过确定在执行减少传染病和慢性病负担的政策时要针对的生活方式因素。最后，该项目将培养一名女科学家，并为本科生提供研究机会。