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Effects of environment on human cytokine responses during childhood in the tropics: role of urban versus rural residence.

Cooper, PJ; Amorim, LD; Figueiredo, CA; Esquivel, R; Tupiza, F; Erazo, S; Oviedo, Y; Vaca, M; Chico, ME; Barreto, ML (2015) Effects of environment on human cytokine responses during childhood in the tropics: role of urban versus rural residence. World Allergy Organization Journal, 8 (22). ISSN 1939-4551 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40413-015-0071-2
SGUL Authors: Cooper, Philip John

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Environment may have a key role in the development of the immune system in childhood and environmental exposures associated with rural residence may explain the low prevalence of allergic and autoimmune diseases in the rural tropics. We investigated the effects of urban versus rural residence on the adaptive immune response in children living in urban and rural areas in a tropical region of Latin America. METHODS: We recruited school children in either rural communities in the Province of Esmeraldas or in urban neighborhoods in the city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. We collected data on environmental exposures by questionnaire and on intestinal parasites by examination of stool samples. Peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) in whole blood were stimulated with superantigen, parasite antigens and aeroallergens and IFN-γ, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-17 were measured in supernatants. RESULTS: We evaluated 440 school children; 210 living in rural communities and 230 in the city of Esmeraldas. Overall, urban children had greater access to piped water (urban 98.7 % vs. rural 1.9 %), were more likely to have a household bathroom (urban 97.4 % vs. rural 54.8 %), and were less likely to be infected with soil-transmitted helminth infections (urban 20.9 % vs. rural 73.5 %). Generally, detectable levels of cytokines were more frequent in blood from children living in urban than rural areas. Urban residence was associated with a significantly greater frequency of IL-10 production spontaneously (adjusted OR 2.56, 95 % CI 1.05-6.24) and on stimulation with Ascaris (adj. OR 2.5, 95 % CI 1.09-5.79) and house dust mite (adj. 2.24, 95 % CI 1.07-4.70) antigens. Analysis of effects of environmental exposures on SEB-induced IL-10 production within urban and rural populations showed that some environmental exposures indicative of poor hygiene (urban - higher birth order, A. lumbricoides infection; rural - no bathroom, more peri-domiciliary animals, and living in a wood/bamboo house) were associated with elevated IL-10. CONCLUSIONS: In our study population, the immune response of children living in an urban environment was associated more frequently with the production of the immune regulatory cytokine, IL-10. Some factors related to poor hygiene and living conditions were associated with elevated IL-10 production within urban and rural populations.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © 2015 Cooper et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Keywords: Cytokine profile, Environment, Hygiene, Rural, Tropical Latin America, Urban, 1103 Clinical Sciences
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Infection and Immunity Research Institute (INII)
Journal or Publication Title: World Allergy Organization Journal
ISSN: 1939-4551
Language: eng
Dates:
DateEvent
6 August 2015Published
Publisher License: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Projects:
Project IDFunderFunder ID
100714Wellcome TrustUNSPECIFIED
PubMed ID: 26312126
Go to PubMed abstract
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/107730
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40413-015-0071-2

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