Peanut oral immunotherapy results in increased antigen-induced regulatory T-cell function and hypomethylation of forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3).

Background: The mechanisms contributing to clinical immune tolerance remain incompletely understood. This study provides evidence for specific immune mechanisms that are associated with a model of operationally defined clinical tolerance.

Objective: Our overall objective was to study laboratory changes associated with clinical immune tolerance in antigen-induced T cells, basophils, and antibodies in subjects undergoing oral immunotherapy (OIT) for peanut allergy.

Identification of STAT5A and STAT5B target genes in human T cells.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) comprises a family of universal transcription factors that help cells sense and respond to environmental signals. STAT5 refers to two highly related proteins, STAT5A and STAT5B, with critical function: their complete deficiency is lethal in mice; in humans, STAT5B deficiency alone leads to endocrine and immunological problems, while STAT5A deficiency has not been reported. STAT5A and STAT5B show peptide sequence similarities greater than 90%, but subtle structural differences suggest possible non-redundant roles in gene regulation.

Cerebellar Purkinje cell activity drives motor learning.

The climbing fiber input to the cerebellar cortex is thought to provide instructive signals that drive the induction of motor skill learning. We found that optogenetic activation of Purkinje cells, the sole output neurons of the cerebellar cortex, can also drive motor learning in mice. This dual control over the induction of learning by climbing fibers and Purkinje cells can expand the learning capacity of motor circuits.

Food allergy diagnosis and therapy: where are we now?

Food allergy is a growing worldwide epidemic that adversely effects up to 10% of the population. Causes and risk factors remain unclear and diagnostic methods are imprecise. There is currently no accepted treatment for food allergy.

Asthma discordance in twins is linked to epigenetic modifications of T cells.

T cells mediate the inflammatory responses observed in asthma among genetically susceptible individuals and have been suspected to be prone to epigenetic regulation. However, these relationships are not well established from past clinical studies that have had limited capacity to control for the effects of variable genetic predisposition and early environmental exposures. Relying on a cohort of monozygotic twins discordant for asthma we sought to determine if epigenetic modifications in T cells were associated with current asthma and explored whether such modifications were associated with second hand smoke exposures.

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.

Background: Secondhand smoke (SHS) and ambient air pollution (AAP) exposures have been associated with increased prevalence and severity of asthma and DNA modifications of immune cells. In the current study, we examined the association between SHS and AAP with DNA methylation and expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) in T cell populations.

Methods: Subjects 7-18 years old were recruited from Fresno (high AAP; n = 62) and Stanford, CA (low AAP; n = 40) and divided into SHS-exposed (Fresno: n = 31, Stanford: n = 6) and non-SHS-exposed (nSHS; Fresno: n = 31, Stanford: n = 34) groups.

Oral immunotherapy and anti-IgE antibody-adjunctive treatment for food allergy.

One of the most promising therapies for food allergy is oral immunotherapy (OIT), in which small amounts of allergen are administered in increasing amounts, with the immediate goal of desensitization and the long-term goal of tolerance. However, safety and standardization concerns prevent its widespread use, and a subgroup of patients may experience severe allergic reactions. These concerns might be addressed by another promising therapy involving anti-IgE monoclonal antibodies (mAb), which can reduce allergic reactions associated with food administration.