Innate Immune Activation and Circulating Inflammatory Markers in Preschool Children

Fiona Collier; Fiona Collier; Cerys Chau; Toby Mansell; Keshav Faye-Chauhan; Peter Vuillermin; Peter Vuillermin; Peter Vuillermin; Anne-Louise Ponsonby; Anne-Louise Ponsonby; Richard Saffery; Richard Saffery; Mimi L. K. Tang; Mimi L. K. Tang; Martin O’Hely; Martin O’Hely; Martin O’Hely; John Carlin; John Carlin; Lawrence E. K. Gray; Siroon Bekkering; Siroon Bekkering; David Burgner; David Burgner; David Burgner; the Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.830049

Frontiers in Immunology (Feb 2022)

Innate Immune Activation and Circulating Inflammatory Markers in Preschool Children

Fiona Collier,
Fiona Collier,
Cerys Chau,
Toby Mansell,
Keshav Faye-Chauhan,
Peter Vuillermin,
Peter Vuillermin,
Peter Vuillermin,
Anne-Louise Ponsonby,
Anne-Louise Ponsonby,
Richard Saffery,
Richard Saffery,
Mimi L. K. Tang,
Mimi L. K. Tang,
Martin O’Hely,
Martin O’Hely,
Martin O’Hely,
John Carlin,
John Carlin,
Lawrence E. K. Gray,
Siroon Bekkering,
Siroon Bekkering,
David Burgner,
David Burgner,
David Burgner,
the Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group

Affiliations

Fiona Collier: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Fiona Collier: Child Health Research Unit, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Cerys Chau: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Toby Mansell: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Keshav Faye-Chauhan: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Peter Vuillermin: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Peter Vuillermin: Child Health Research Unit, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Peter Vuillermin: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Anne-Louise Ponsonby: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Anne-Louise Ponsonby: Department of Neuroepidemiology, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Richard Saffery: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Richard Saffery: Department of Neuroepidemiology, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Mimi L. K. Tang: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Mimi L. K. Tang: Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne University, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Martin O’Hely: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Martin O’Hely: Child Health Research Unit, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Martin O’Hely: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
John Carlin: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
John Carlin: Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne University, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Lawrence E. K. Gray: Child Health Research Unit, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Siroon Bekkering: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Siroon Bekkering: Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Science (RIMLS), Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
David Burgner: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
David Burgner: Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne University, Parkville, VIC, Australia
David Burgner: Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
the Barwon Infant Study Investigator Group

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.830049
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12

Abstract

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Early childhood is characterised by repeated infectious exposures that result in inflammatory responses by the innate immune system. In addition, this inflammatory response to infection is thought to contribute to the epidemiological evidence linking childhood infection and adult non-communicable diseases. Consequently, the relationship between innate immune responses and inflammation during early life may inform prevention of NCDs later in life. In adults, non-genetic host factors such as age, sex, and obesity, strongly impact cytokine production and circulating mediators, but data in children are lacking. Here, we assessed cytokine responses and inflammatory markers in a population of healthy preschool children (mean age 4.2 years). We studied associations between cytokines, plasma inflammatory markers and non-genetic host factors, such as sex, age, adiposity, season, and immune cell composition. Similar to adults, boys had a higher inflammatory response than girls, with IL-12p70 and IL-10 upregulated following TLR stimulation. Adiposity and winter season were associated with increased circulating inflammatory markers but not cytokine production. The inflammatory markers GlycA and hsCRP were positively associated with production of a number of cytokines and may therefore reflect innate immune function and inflammatory potential. This dataset will be informative for future prospective studies relating immune parameters to preclinical childhood NCD phenotypes.

Published in Frontiers in Immunology

ISSN: 1664-3224 (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Specialties of internal medicine: Immunologic diseases. Allergy
Website: http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/immunology

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