Microbes and asthma: Opportunities for intervention Hermelijn H. Smits, PhD, Pieter S. Hiemstra, PhD, Clarissa Prazeres da Costa, MD, PhD, Markus Ege, MPH, Michael Edwards, PhD, Holger Garn, PhD, Peter H. Howarth, MD, Tuomas Jartti, MD, Esther C. de Jong, PhD, Rick M. Maizels, PhD, Ben J. Marsland, PhD, Henry J. McSorley, PhD, Anne Müller, PhD, Petra I. Pfefferle, PhD, Huub Savelkoul, PhD, Jürgen Schwarze, MD, Wendy W.J. Unger, PhD, Erika von Mutius, MD, MSc, Maria Yazdanbakhsh, PhD, Christian Taube, MD, PhD Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Volume 137, Issue 3, Pages 690-697 (March 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.01.004 Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Terms and Conditions
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2016 137, 690-697DOI: (10 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2016 137, 690-697DOI: (10.1016/j.jaci.2016.01.004) Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Terms and Conditions
Fig 1 Schematic overview of the hygiene/“old friends” hypothesis. Several microbial signals, such as environmental exposure (rural/farm environment) and an archaic microbiota (containing more diverse and abundant bacteria and typical helminth parasites), provide strong signals to develop regulatory responses (tolerance), whereas an urbanized environment and/or a westernized microbiota does not, tipping the immune balance more toward inflammation. Tolerance leads to good health, whereas in its absence, an inflammatory profile leads to airway diseases, such as respiratory allergies and asthma. Composition and diversity of the microbiota are affected by diet. Viral infections, sinusitis, and air pollution trigger the immune system to move toward inflammation, whereas a diverse microbiota might reduce these inflammatory signals. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2016 137, 690-697DOI: (10.1016/j.jaci.2016.01.004) Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Terms and Conditions