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Epithelial-dendritic cell interactions in allergic disorders

Airway epithelial cells act through multiple mechanisms to function as an important component of the pulmonary defence strategy that is crucial...

The hygiene hypothesis revisited: role of materno-fetal interactions

For 20 years, the hygiene hypothesis has dominated attempts to explain the increasing prevalence of allergic disease. A causal link between maternal innate immu

Vitamin D deficiency linked to childhood asthma

Researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia have found children with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to develop asthma.

Maternal diet modulates the infant microbiome and intestinal Flt3L necessary for dendritic cell development and immunity to respiratory infection

Poor maternal diet during pregnancy is a risk factor for severe lower respiratory infections in the offspring, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that in mice a maternal low-fiber diet led to enhanced LRI severity in infants because of delayed plasmacytoid dendritic cell recruitment and perturbation of regulatory T cell expansion in the lungs.

LPS binding protein and activation signatures are upregulated during asthma exacerbations in children

Asthma exacerbations in children are associated with respiratory viral infection and atopy, resulting in systemic immune activation and infiltration of immune cells into the airways. The gene networks driving the immune activation and subsequent migration of immune cells into the airways remains incompletely understood. Cellular and molecular profiling of PBMC was employed on paired samples obtained from atopic asthmatic children during acute virus-associated exacerbations and later during convalescence.

Single cell transcriptomics reveals cell type specific features of developmentally regulated responses to lipopolysaccharide between birth and 5 years

Human perinatal life is characterized by a period of extraordinary change during which newborns encounter abundant environmental stimuli and exposure to potential pathogens. To meet such challenges, the neonatal immune system is equipped with unique functional characteristics that adapt to changing conditions as development progresses across the early years of life, but the molecular characteristics of such adaptations remain poorly understood.

Professor Wayne Thomas

Honorary Emeritus Fellow; Scientific Reviewer - Animal Ethics

Increased allergic immune response to Sarcoptes scabiei antigens in crusted versus ordinary scabies

Scabies, a parasitic skin infestation by the burrowing "itch" mite Sarcoptes scabiei, causes significant health problems for children and adults worldwide.

Th2-associated immunity to bacteria in asthma in teenagers and susceptibility to asthma

Bacterial colonisation of the airways is associated with increased risk of childhood asthma

Evaluation of impact of 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine following 7 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Australian Indigenous children.

Background: High incidence and serotype diversity of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Indigenous children in remote Australia led to rapid introduction of