Journal article

Maternal supplementation with LGG reduces vaccine-specific immune responses in infants at high-risk of developing allergic disease

Paul V Licciardi, Intan H Ismail, Anne Balloch, Milton Mui, Edwin Hoe, Karen Lamb, Mimi LK Tang

FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY | FRONTIERS MEDIA SA | Published : 2013

Abstract

Probiotics are defined as live micro-organisms that when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. Among their pleiotropic effects, inhibition of pathogen colonization at the mucosal surface as well as modulation of immune responses are widely recognized as the principal biological activities of probiotic bacteria. In recent times, the immune effects of probiotics have led to their application as vaccine adjuvants, offering a novel strategy for enhancing the efficacy of current vaccines. Such an approach is particularly relevant in regions where infectious disease burden is greatest and where access to complete vaccination programs is limited. In this study, we re..

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Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

The studies were funded by grants from the Jack Brockhoff Foundation, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation. This study was supported in part by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. Paul V. Licciardi is the recipient of a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship. Intan Ismail was supported by a scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia. LGG and placebo capsules were manufactured and supplied by Dicofarm Ltd. (Roma, Italy). The HbO-HA antigen for the Hib studies was obtained through the NIH Biodefense and Emerging Infections Research Repository, NIAID, NIH: H. influenzae type b oligosaccharide-Human Serum Albumin Conjugate (Hbo-HA Antigen), NR-122268. We thank Lam Kwang-Yang and Natalie Wei Ling Yeong for their help with the total IgG assays. We are grateful to the participating families and the midwifery staff of the Mercy Hospital for Women for their cooperation, to Michael Permezel, Kay Hynes, Christine Plover, Maggie Flood, Christine Axelrad, Sally Moore, Val Bryant, and Noel Cranswick for their assistance in the conduct of this trial, to Frances Oppedisano for her assistance with immunological studies and to John Su for advice regarding eczema assessment.