Project description:Birch pollen is a significant cause of allergic rhinitis, yet the mechanisms of sensitization is to be understood completely. Here, we investigate the changes in gene expression of birch pollen allergic and non-allergic individuals that occur as a result of nasal provocation with birch pollen.
2024-12-17 | GSE261239 | GEO
Project description:Fungal data in Erman's birch forests of Changbai Mountain
Project description:Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) play a central role for tolerance against self and innocuous environmental antigens. However, the role of antigen-specificity for Treg-mediated tolerance is only incompletely understood. Here we show by direct ex vivo characterization of human CD4+ T cells, that the response against innocuous airborne antigens, such as plant pollen or fungal spores, is dominated by memory-like antigen-specific Treg. Surprisingly, breakdown of tolerance in atopic donors was not accompanied by a quantitatively or qualitatively altered Treg response, but instead correlated with a striking dichotomy of Treg versus Th2 target specificity. Allergenic proteins, are selectively targeted by Th2 cells, but not Treg. Thus human Treg specific for airborne antigens maintain tolerance at mucosal sites and the failure to generate specific Treg against a subgroup of antigens provides a window of opportunity for allergy development. PBMCs from sex and age matched birch pollen allergic patients and healthy controls, were stimulated (7h) with airborne fungal (A. fumigatus) or birch pollen antigen (birch) and sorted into antigen specific conventional and regulatory T cells according to their expression of CD154+ and CD137+ on CD4+ T cells, respectively. Number of samples per group in parentheses: Healthy controls stimulated with A. fumigatus (n=5), allergic patients stimulated with A. fumigatus (n=6), healthy controls stimulated with birch (n=6), allergic patients stimulated with birch (n=4).
Project description:We have used transgenic ethylene-insensitive birches (Betula pendula), which express the Arabidopsis ethylene receptor gene ETR1 carrying the dominant mutation etr1-1, to investigate the role of ethylene in short day (SD) -induced responses in the shoot apical meristem in birch. Wild-type birch (clone V5834) and two ethylene-insensitive lines in this background (BPetr1-1-35 and BPetr1-1-86; see Plant Physiol 132: 185-195) were exposed to SD. After 12, 16 and 20 days under SD, apices of branches of three trees were pooled before RNA extraction from each sample. To study the ethylene-dependent SD-transcriptome in birch apices, the RNA extracts of lines BPetr1-1-35 and BPetr1-1-86 were separately compared with the reference, wild-type V5834, at the three time points (12SD, 16SD, 20SD) resulting in altogether six microarray hybridizations.
Project description:To investigate the allergenicity of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 and the impact of known adjuvants coming from pollen, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), we performed quantitative proteome analysis of stimulated monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs). Thus, we treated cells with birch pollen extract (BPE), a recombinant variant of Bet v 1 or LPS followed by proteomic profiling by means of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using isobaric labelling.
Project description:Comparison of gene expression profiles between pediatric patients with and without symptoms of cross-allergy (birch-apple syndrome).
Project description:Global warming has shifted climate zones poleward or upward. However, understanding the responses and mechanism of microbial community structure and functions relevant to natural climate zone succession is challenged by the high complexity of microbial communities. Here, we examined soil microbial community in three broadleaved forests located in the Wulu Mountain (WLM, temperate climate), Funiu Mountain (FNM, at the border of temperate and subtropical climate zones), or Shennongjia Mountain (SNJ, subtropical climate).Soils were characterized for geochemistry, Illumina sequencing was used to determine microbial taxonomic communities and GeoChips 5.0 were used to determine microbial functional genes.
Project description:Immunologic response of two patient categories, birch pollen allergic and non-allergic, to natural pollen exposure (spring vs. winter) quantitated at the level of the transcriptome
Project description:Human BEAS-2B were exposed to whole birch pollen using a Pollen Sedimentation Chamber. The chamber was designed to be able to dose cells to dry whole pollen. The goal was to understand the reaction of human epithelial cells to a human real life pollen exposure.