Hochgebirgsklinik/Children's Allergy and Asthma Hospital, Davos, Switzerland and Christine Kühne Center for Allergy Research and Education, Davos, Switzerland

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S. Krauss-Etschmann,

S. Krauss-Etschmann

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany

^*Contributed equally to this work.

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E. Von Mutius,

E. Von Mutius

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

^*Contributed equally to this work.

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the PASTURE Study group,

the PASTURE Study group

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

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M. K. Rochat,

M. K. Rochat

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

^*Contributed equally to this work.

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M. J. Ege,

M. J. Ege

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

^*Contributed equally to this work.

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D. Plabst,

D. Plabst

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

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J. Steinle,

J. Steinle

Children's Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

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S. Bitter,

S. Bitter

Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at Swiss Tropical Institute. Associated Institute of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

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C. Braun-Fahrländer,

C. Braun-Fahrländer

Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at Swiss Tropical Institute. Associated Institute of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

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J-C. Dalphin,

J-C. Dalphin

Department of Respiratory Disease, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France

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J. Riedler,

J. Riedler

Children's Hospital, Schwarzach, Austria

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M. Roponen,

M. Roponen

Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland

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M-R. Hirvonen,

M-R. Hirvonen

Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland

Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland

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G. Büchele,

G. Büchele

Institute of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

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H. Renz,

H. Renz

Department of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany

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R. Lauener,

R. Lauener

Children's Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Hochgebirgsklinik/Children's Allergy and Asthma Hospital, Davos, Switzerland and Christine Kühne Center for Allergy Research and Education, Davos, Switzerland

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S. Krauss-Etschmann,

S. Krauss-Etschmann

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany

^*Contributed equally to this work.

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E. Von Mutius,

E. Von Mutius

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

^*Contributed equally to this work.

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the PASTURE Study group,

the PASTURE Study group

Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

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First published: 19 April 2010

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03428.x

Citations: 48

Correspondence:
M. Rochat, Dr von Haunersche Kinderklinik, Lindwurmstrasse 4, 80337 Munich, Germany.
E-mail: [email protected]

The PASTURE study group: Gertraud Weiß, Ellen Üblagger, Claudia Humer, Manuela Rußegger (Austria); Juha Pekkanen, Raija Juntunen, Reetta Tiihonen, Pekka Tiittanen, Kati Huttunen, Suvi Virtanen, Timo Kauppila, Aino Nevalainen, Sami Remes, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, Anne Karvonen, Mikko Lappalainen (Finland); Marie-Laure Dalphin, Dominique Vuitton, Renaud Piarroux, Gabriel Reboux, Sandrine Roussel, Bertrand Sudre (France); Michael Kabesch, Susanne Schmid, Sabina Illi, Nicola Korherr, Jon Genuneit, Richard Peter, Serdar Sel, Nicole Blümer, Petra Pfefferle (Germany); Bert Brunekreef, Ulrike Gehring, Gert Dockes (The Netherlands); Felix H. Sennhauser, Susanne Loeliger, Remo Frei, Caroline Roduit (Switzerland).

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Summary

Background Recent studies indicate that prenatal vitamin D intake may protect against the development of atopic diseases in young children. Vitamin D has been shown to induce tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells. Whether the allergy-protective potential of prenatal vitamin D is mediated through such mechanisms is, however, unknown.

Objective To evaluate the association between prenatal vitamin D supplementation and tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells in cord blood (CB) as determined by mRNA measurement of immunoglobulin-like transcripts (ILT)3 and ILT4.

Methods A prospective multi-centre birth cohort was established in rural areas of five European countries. Information on maternal exposures including vitamin D intake was collected by questionnaires during pregnancy. The gene expression of ILT3 and ILT4 was analysed by real-time PCR in the CB of 927 children. Maternal vitamin D supplementation was assessed in Finland and France (n=349).

Results Maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy was associated with an increase in the gene expression of ILT3 (P=0.012) and ILT4 (P<0.001). This association remained significant for ILT4 (P=0.020) and showed a positive trend for the gene expression of ILT3 (P=0.059) after multivariate analysis controlling for various confounders.

Conclusions Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy may increase the mRNA levels of ILT3 and ILT4 in CB. This finding may point towards an early induction of tolerogenic immune responses by maternal vitamin D intake.

Cite this as: M. K. Rochat, M. J. Ege, D. Plabst, J. Steinle, S. Bitter, C. Braun-Fahrländer, J-C. Dalphin, J. Riedler, M. Roponen, M-R. Hirvonen, G. Büchele, H. Renz, R. Lauener, S. Krauss-Etschmann, E. von Mutius and the PASTURE Study group, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2010 (40) 786–794.

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Volume40, Issue5

May 2010

Pages 786-794

Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy increases gene expression of ILT3 and ILT4 in cord blood

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Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy increases gene expression of ILT3 and ILT4 in cord blood

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