You and Your Offspring are What You Eat and Pollutants You're Exposed too!

    

   
     It has been suggested that scientists should look at a decrease in regulatory T cells (Tregs) in environmental diseases. It is suspected that environmental factors may contribute to "noncommunicative diseases like asthma, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease and allergic diseases".  He further explains that environmental factors such as nutritional state and tobacco use in utero shapes function, metabolism and body structures which effects offspring and contributes to the development of these types of disease later in life. More studies are needed to see how environmental factors alter the fetal immune responses from these epigenetic changes later in life.
     It is believed that environmental factors like nutrition and pollution shape the microbiome that can lead to allergies. One of the major culprits may be the Western diet. The typical Western diet is lacking in fruits and vegetables and an imbalance of good and bad fats. The author notes this imbalance influences the development of allergies because of the anti-inflammatory nature of Omega 3 fats verses the pro-inflammatory omega 6 fats. He says further, that "there is a decrease in antioxidants that leads to wheeze and lower lung function. In addition, the effect of nutrition on allergies are mediated through immunomodulation, oxidative stress and can be epigenetically controlled.  The more pro-inflammatory the diet and more prevalent the pollutants, the more there are changes to the microbiome and functions of the gut (Yang) and the more numerous the changes to the immune system.( Byoung-Ju)
    In recent years, more studies have focused on the decreased expression of Fox3p Tregs in non-communicable diseases through methylation. Kohli et al. describes how there is a decrease of Tregs from exposure to second hand smoke and ambient air pollution and its consequences were more severe when the individual was exposed to both at the same time. Also,  it showed that many of the effects of these pollutants on Tregs was epigenetically controlled and passed on to offspring if the mother's was exposed to these pollutants while pregnant.  




For further reading: Chemical Sensitivity and Th2 Autoimmune Disease: The Loss of Treg Cells As Referee! http://heirsresearch.blogspot.com/2010/06/commensal-bacteria-induce-tolerance-via.html



Regulatory T cells (Tregs) monitoring in environmental diseases. Collegium antropologicum, Vol. 33, No. 3. (September 2009), pp. 743-746 by Vladimir Mićović, Bozo Vojniković, Aleksandar Bulog, et al. http://www.citeulike.org/user/kimberlykramer2015/article/6090770
Environmental changes, microbiota, and allergic diseases. Allergy, asthma & immunology research, Vol. 6, No. 5. (September 2014), pp. 389-400, doi:10.4168/aair.2014.6.5.389 by Byoung-Ju J. Kim, So-Yeon Y. Lee, Hyo-Bin B. Kim, Eun Lee, Soo-Jong J. Hong. http://www.citeulike.org/user/kimberlykramer2015/article/13578723

Secondhand smoke in combination with ambient air pollution exposure is associated with increasedx CpG methylation and decreased expression of IFN-γ in T effector cells and Foxp3 in T regulatory cells in children. Clinical epigenetics, Vol. 4, No. 1. (2012), doi:10.1186/1868-7083-4-17 by Arunima Kohli, Marco A. Garcia, Rachel L. Miller, et al. http://www.citeulike.org/user/kimberlykramer2015/article/13578755

[Interactions between the monogastric animal gut microbiota and the intestinal immune function--a review]. Wei sheng wu xue bao = Acta microbiologica Sinica, Vol. 54, No. 5. (4 May 2014), pp. 480-486 by Lina Yang, Gaorui Bian, Weiyun Zhu http://www.citeulike.org/user/kimberlykramer2015/article/13578764