ABSTRACT: Background: A subset of infants are hyper-susceptible to severe/acute viral bronchiolitis (AVB), for reasons unknown. Purpose: To characterise the cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying infant AVB in circulating cells/local airways tissues. Methods: PBMC and nasal mucosal scrapings (NMS) were obtained from Infants (<18mths) and children (1.5-5yrs) during AVB and post-convalescence. Immune response patterns were profiled by multiplex analysis of plasma cytokines, flow cytometry, and transcriptomics (RNA-Seq). Molecular profiling of group-level data utilised a combination of upstream regulator and coexpression network analysis, followed by individual subject-level data analysis employing personalised N-of-1-pathways methodology. Results: Group-level analyses demonstrated that infant PBMC responses were dominated by monocyte-associated hyper-upregulated type I interferon signalling/pro-inflammatory pathways (drivers: TNF, IL6, TREM1, IL1B), versus a combination of inflammation (PTGER2, IL6) plus growth/repair/remodelling pathways (ERBB2, TGFB1, AREG, HGF) coupled with Th2 and NK-cell signalling in children. Age-related differences were not attributable to differential steroid usage or variations in underlying viral pathogens. Nasal mucosal responses were comparable qualitatively in infants/children, dominated by interferon types I-III, but the magnitude of upregulation was higher in infants (range 6-48-fold) than children (5-17-fold). N-of-1-pathways analysis confirmed differential upregulation of innate immunity in infants and NK cell networks in children, and additionally demonstrated covert AVB response sub-phenotypes that were independent of chronological age. Conclusions: Dysregulated expression of interferon-dependent pathways following respiratory viral infections is a defining immunophenotypic feature of AVB-susceptible infants and a subset of children. Susceptible subjects appear to represent a discrete subgroup who cluster based on (slow) kinetics of postnatal maturation of innate immune competence.
Project description:Background: A subset of infants are hyper-susceptible to severe/acute viral bronchiolitis (AVB), for reasons unknown. Purpose: To characterise the cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying infant AVB in circulating cells/local airways tissues. Methods: PBMC and nasal mucosal scrapings (NMS) were obtained from Infants (<18mths) and children (1.5-5yrs) during AVB and post-convalescence. Immune response patterns were profiled by multiplex analysis of plasma cytokines, flow cytometry, and transcriptomics (RNA-Seq). Molecular profiling of group-level data utilised a combination of upstream regulator and coexpression network analysis, followed by individual subject-level data analysis employing personalised N-of-1-pathways methodology. Results: Group-level analyses demonstrated that infant PBMC responses were dominated by monocyte-associated hyper-upregulated type I interferon signalling/pro-inflammatory pathways (drivers: TNF, IL6, TREM1, IL1B), versus a combination of inflammation (PTGER2, IL6) plus growth/repair/remodelling pathways (ERBB2, TGFB1, AREG, HGF) coupled with Th2 and NK-cell signalling in children. Age-related differences were not attributable to differential steroid usage or variations in underlying viral pathogens. Nasal mucosal responses were comparable qualitatively in infants/children, dominated by interferon types I-III, but the magnitude of upregulation was higher in infants (range 6-48-fold) than children (5-17-fold). N-of-1-pathways analysis confirmed differential upregulation of innate immunity in infants and NK cell networks in children, and additionally demonstrated covert AVB response sub-phenotypes that were independent of chronological age. Conclusions: Dysregulated expression of interferon-dependent pathways following respiratory viral infections is a defining immunophenotypic feature of AVB-susceptible infants and a subset of children. Susceptible subjects appear to represent a discrete subgroup who cluster based on (slow) kinetics of postnatal maturation of innate immune competence.
Project description:Viral respiratory infections significantly affect young children, particularly extremely premature infants, resulting in high hospitalization rates and increased health-care burdens. Despite posing substantial health risks, airway immune responses in early life remain largely unexplored. Nasal epithelial cells, the primary defense against respiratory infections, are vital for understanding nasal immune responses and serve as a promising target for uncovering underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms. Using a trans-well pseudostratified nasal epithelial cell system, we examined age-dependent developmental differences and antiviral responses to influenza A and respiratory syncytial virus through systems biology approaches. Our studies revealed differences in innate-receptor repertoires, distinct developmental pathways, and differentially connected antiviral network circuits between neonatal and adult nasal epithelial cells. Consensus network analysis identified unique and shared cellular networks for influenza A and respiratory syncytial virus, emphasizing highly relevant virus-specific pathways. This research highlights the importance of nasal epithelial cells in innate antiviral immune responses and offers novel insights that should enable a deeper understanding of age-related differences in nasal epithelial cell immunity following respiratory virus infections.
Project description:Prenatal exposures such as infections and immunisation may influence infant responses. We had an opportunity to undertake an analysis of responses in infants within the context of a study investigating the effects of maternal mycobacterial exposures and infection on bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine-induced responses in Ugandan infants. Gene expression profiles for pathways associated with maternal LTBI and with maternal BCG scar were examined using samples collected at one (n=42) and six (n=51) weeks after BCG immunisation using microarray. Interferon and inflammation response pathways were up-regulated in infants of mothers with LTBI at six weeks, and in infants of mothers with a BCG scar at one and six weeks after BCG immunisation. Maternal BCG scar had a stronger association with infant responses than maternal LTBI, with an increased proinflammatory immune profile.
Project description:Pediatric sepsis is a leading cause of mortality in children across the world. Within pediatric sepsis, how developmental age-specific host immune response impact on the occurrence and development of pediatric sepsis is still unknown, especially between infants and toddlers, which were the major susceptible age groups in sepsis. Experimental design In this study, we applied a nested case-control study strategy and analyzed the plasma proteomes of pediatric sepsis patients between infants and toddlers in comparison to their age-matched controls respectively. Each age group consists of three subgroups with different outcomes. One hundred and ten plasma samples were pooled into 16 samples for quantitative identification by LC-MS/MS. Results It was totally quantified 677 proteins. In comparison to toddlers, infant sepsis patients were characteristic with dominant neutrophil-mediated defense, suppressed adaptive immunity and NK-mediated cytotoxicity. Besides, pentose phosphate pathway was more up-regulated in infants and associated with poor outcome. Moreover, combined Hp and Thbs1 with the AUC value of 0.958 (95%CI, 0.868, 1.000) was confirmed as potential infant-adapted prognostic marker of poor outcome in sepsis. Conclusion and clinical relevance Our proteomic analysis of age-associated pediatric sepsis combined with clinical laboratory data provided a comprehensive insight into the complex, multifactorial heterogeneous host response to pediatric sepsis and allowed identification of critical differences between infant and toddler sepsis. Moreover, we confirmed that combined Hp and Thbs1 is more infant-adapted and serves as a potential prognostic biomarker for poor outcome of infant sepsis, promoting the application of age-adapted precision medicine in pediatric sepsis.
Project description:Background: In asthma, airway epithelium remodeling can already be detected during childhood, and epithelial cells are more susceptible to virus and oxidative stress. Their exact role in natural history and severity of children allergic respiratory disease remains however surprisingly unexplored. Aim: To analyze dysfunctions of epithelium in dust mite allergic respiratory disease (rhinitis ± asthma) in children. Methods: Expression profilings of nasal epithelial cells collected by brushing were performed on Affymetrix Hugene 1.0 ST arrays. All allergic patients were sensitized to dust mite. 19 patients had an isolated allergic rhinitis (AR). 14 patients had AR associated with asthma. Patients were compared to 12 controls, their severity and control being assessed according to NAEPP and ARIA criteria. Infections by respiratory viruses were excluded by real-time PCR measurements. Results: 61 probes were able to distinguish allergic rhinitis children from healthy controls. A majority of these probes was under the control of Th2 cytokines, as evidenced by parallel experiments performed on primary cultures of nasal epithelial cells. In uncontrolled asthmatic patients, we observed not only an enhanced expression of these Th2-responsive transcripts, but also a down-regulation of interferon-responsive genes. Conclusion: Our study identifies a Th2 driven epithelial phenotype common to all dust mite allergic children. Besides, it suggests that epithelium is involved in the severity of the disease. Expression profiles observed in uncontrolled asthmatic patients suggest that severity of asthma is linked at the same time to atopy and to impaired viral response. Nasal epithelium gene expression profiling of dust mite allergic children with isolated rhinitis, rhinitis associated with asthma and controls. 38 samples classified in 4 categories : 14 isolated rhinitis (R), 6 rhinitis with uncontrolled asthma (UA), 7 rhinitis with controlled asthma (CA) and 11 healthy subjects (C )
Project description:Although the prognosis for childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in general has improved tremendously over the last decades, the survival chances for infants (<1 year of age) with ALL remains poor. A major obstacle hampering successful treatment results in infant ALL is cellular resistance to several drugs currently used in the treatment of ALL, especially to prednisolone (or prednisone). Therefore we set out to search for genes differentially expressed between from infant (children <1 year of age) and non-infant (children >1 year of age) ALL samples either resistant or sensitive to prednisolone.
Project description:Using using ATLAS cDNA expression arrays, we performed gene expression profiling of primary leukemia cells from 31 infants and 30 non-infant children (pediatric patients) with ALL to determine if any of these signature genes are differentially expressed in infant ALL vs. pediatric ALL. Reduced expression levels of 6 of the 9 CD22E12 signature genes that were represented on the human cDNA arrays, including TP53 and APC as well as MDM2, SATB1, CCNG1 and GNB2 discriminated infant BPL from non-infant BPL. Total RNA was extracted from primary ALL cells and human ATLAS c DNA expression arrays were used for gene expression profiling.
Project description:Using using ATLAS cDNA expression arrays, we performed gene expression profiling of primary leukemia cells from 31 infants and 30 non-infant children (pediatric patients) with ALL to determine if any of these signature genes are differentially expressed in infant ALL vs. pediatric ALL. Reduced expression levels of 6 of the 9 CD22deltaE12 signature genes that were represented on the human cDNA arrays, including TP53 and APC as well as MDM2, SATB1, CCNG1 and GNB2 discriminated infant BPL from non-infant BPL.
Project description:Background: In asthma, airway epithelium remodeling can already be detected during childhood, and epithelial cells are more susceptible to virus and oxidative stress. Their exact role in natural history and severity of children allergic respiratory disease remains however surprisingly unexplored. Aim: To analyze dysfunctions of epithelium in dust mite allergic respiratory disease (rhinitis ± asthma) in children. Methods: Expression profilings of nasal epithelial cells collected by brushing were performed on Affymetrix Hugene 1.0 ST arrays. All allergic patients were sensitized to dust mite. 19 patients had an isolated allergic rhinitis (AR). 14 patients had AR associated with asthma. Patients were compared to 12 controls, their severity and control being assessed according to NAEPP and ARIA criteria. Infections by respiratory viruses were excluded by real-time PCR measurements. Results: 61 probes were able to distinguish allergic rhinitis children from healthy controls. A majority of these probes was under the control of Th2 cytokines, as evidenced by parallel experiments performed on primary cultures of nasal epithelial cells. In uncontrolled asthmatic patients, we observed not only an enhanced expression of these Th2-responsive transcripts, but also a down-regulation of interferon-responsive genes. Conclusion: Our study identifies a Th2 driven epithelial phenotype common to all dust mite allergic children. Besides, it suggests that epithelium is involved in the severity of the disease. Expression profiles observed in uncontrolled asthmatic patients suggest that severity of asthma is linked at the same time to atopy and to impaired viral response. Differentiated HNECs gene expression profiling in context of Th2 and IFN cytokine stimulation Each condition was performed in triplicates: total of 21 samples
Project description:Background: In asthma, airway epithelium remodeling can already be detected during childhood, and epithelial cells are more susceptible to virus and oxidative stress. Their exact role in natural history and severity of children allergic respiratory disease remains however surprisingly unexplored. Aim: To analyze dysfunctions of epithelium in dust mite allergic respiratory disease (rhinitis ± asthma) in children. Methods: Expression profilings of nasal epithelial cells collected by brushing were performed on Affymetrix Hugene 1.0 ST arrays. All allergic patients were sensitized to dust mite. 19 patients had an isolated allergic rhinitis (AR). 14 patients had AR associated with asthma. Patients were compared to 12 controls, their severity and control being assessed according to NAEPP and ARIA criteria. Infections by respiratory viruses were excluded by real-time PCR measurements. Results: 61 probes were able to distinguish allergic rhinitis children from healthy controls. A majority of these probes was under the control of Th2 cytokines, as evidenced by parallel experiments performed on primary cultures of nasal epithelial cells. In uncontrolled asthmatic patients, we observed not only an enhanced expression of these Th2-responsive transcripts, but also a down-regulation of interferon-responsive genes. Conclusion: Our study identifies a Th2 driven epithelial phenotype common to all dust mite allergic children. Besides, it suggests that epithelium is involved in the severity of the disease. Expression profiles observed in uncontrolled asthmatic patients suggest that severity of asthma is linked at the same time to atopy and to impaired viral response. Nasal epithelium gene expression profiling of dust mite allergic children with isolated rhinitis, rhinitis associated with asthma and controls.