Role of maternal dietary omega3 fatty acids in modulation of allergen-specific T cell responses in the offspring

环境生活方式的变化与25年来哮喘和过敏性疾病等过敏性疾病的令人担忧的增加有关。尽管造成了巨大的个人、社会和经济代价，但确切的原因尚不清楚。饮食是最重要但尚未研究的环境暴露之一，与最近哮喘和过敏性疾病的增加有关。在寻找过敏预防策略时，这一领域的当局建议将饮食作为研究重点。过敏性疾病是由对尘螨(过敏原)等蛋白质物质的不适当炎性免疫反应引起的，现在很明显，这些免疫反应模式通常在出生前就开始了。这项研究将解决怀孕期间母亲饮食对发育中的人类免疫系统的影响，以及它如何促进后代过敏免疫反应的发展。与日益城市化相关的最显著的饮食变化之一是，促炎症的omega-6脂肪酸(可能促进过敏免疫反应)的摄入量增加，而omega-3脂肪酸(抑制炎症免疫反应)的饮食水平下降。Omega-3脂肪酸对许多炎症性疾病有有益作用，对健康怀孕很重要。孕妇的饮食越来越缺乏omega-3脂肪酸，这可能会使胎儿更容易对过敏原做出反应，并增加后来过敏反应的风险。这项研究将确定，在怀孕期间使用鱼油补充剂增加饮食中的omega-3脂肪酸，是否可以改变出生时和以后婴儿对屋尘螨和其他过敏原的免疫反应。这些发现将有助于我们理解产前营养和免疫发育之间的关系，并可能导致饮食建议作为一种成本效益高的非侵入性策略来帮助预防过敏性疾病。

Environmental lifestyle changes are implicated in the concerning increase in allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic diseases over the 25 years. Despite the enormous personal, social and economic cost, the exact causes are not clear. Diet is one of the most important yet unstudied environmental exposures linked to the recent increase in both asthma and allergic disease. Authorities in this area have recommended diet as research priority in the search for allergy prevention strategies. Allergic diseases result from inappropriate inflammatory immune responses to protein substances such as dust mite (allergens), and it now evident that these patterns of immune responses are commonly initiated before birth. This study will address the influence of maternal diet in pregnancy on the developing human immune system, and how it contributes to the development of allergic immune responses in offspring. One of the most significant dietary changes associated with increasing urbanisation is the increasing intake of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (which may promote allergic immune responses) and declining dietary levels of omega-3 fatty acids (which inhibit inflammatory immune responses). Omega-3 fatty acids have beneficial effects in many inflammatory diseases, and are important for healthy pregnancy. It is possible that maternal diets which are becoming increasingly deficient in omega-3 fatty acids may prime the fetus to respond more readily to allergens, and increase the risk of later allergic responses. This study will determine whether increasing dietary omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy using fish oil supplements, can alter immune responses to house dust mite and other allergens at birth and later infancy. The findings will contribute to our understanding of the relationship between antenatal nutrition and immune development and may lead to dietary recommendations as a cost effective, non invasive strategy to help prevent allergic disease.