Maternal inflammation during pregnancy and risk of immune-mediated diseases in birth cohorts
In the last half of the 20th century, rates of immune-mediated diseases have increased across the world, hinting at changes in our environment as a possible common risk factor for disease. The HEDIMED project is a Horizon2020-funded project of 22 European academic, public and private partners aiming to identify shared determinants of immune-mediated diseases to accelerate disease understanding and prevention. Here, we analyzed perinatal blood samples from four northern European birth cohorts (COPSAC2010, PREDICTA, GDME, and DIPP) designed to study early-life determinants of celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, asthma, and allergy. Pregnancy and cord blood samples were analyzed with the Olink Target96 Inflammation platform. Our aim was to discover patterns in immune mediators linked with disease endpoints in childhood. Preliminary results show significant associations with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes. Cross-disease estimate correlation analysis indicate shared latent patterns between diseases. Further analysis work is currently ongoing. In summary, the study aims to identify perinatal immune markers for childhood immune mediated diseases across 4 European birth cohorts.
Learning Objectives
- Understand how protein biomarkers from perinatal blood samples were utilized to study early-life determinants of immune related diseases.
- Identify associations of immune mediators with disease endpoints in childhood.
- Explore strategies to identify perinatal immune markers for childhood immune-mediated diseases across 4 European birth cohorts.
Speaker
Jonathan Thorsen, MD Ph.D., Senior Researcher, COPSAC – Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev-Gentofte Hospital