Our data suggest that LGG may exert beneficial effects on the development of experimental allergic asthma, when applied in a very early phase of life. Immunological effects are, at least in parts, mediated via the placenta, probably by induction of pro-inflammatory cell signals.

The dramatic increase of allergic disorders in the last decades made their study an imperious demand. The increasing incidence of the development of allergic disorders seems to be associated with the modern westernized lifestyle, but causal reasons and the underlying mechanisms are far from being completely understood. Evidences suggest that priming of the immune responses against allergens happens already in utero. In addition, early life events are essential in shaping the immune answer towards the Th1- or Th2-profile, associated with a nonallergic or allergic phenotype, respectively. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that an early life environment rich in normal microbial flora primes the immune system in the Th1 direction towards clinical balance while a 'sterile' environment rather promotes the development of pathological immune phenotypes. In this review we collect epidemiological evidence for this concept. The data suggest an association between environment, lifestyle and the development of allergic diseases. This is the basis for the development of new hypotheses regarding the underlying pathomechanisms. The current view of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena includes fine-balancing between innate immune mechanisms and Th1, Th2 and regulatory T cells. These novel immunoregulatory events may explain the hygiene hypothesis by an interaction of environmental factors with innate immune mechanisms and various subtypes of T-cell responses.

No abstract

Cerebral listeriosis is a life-threatening disease. However, little is known about the bacterial virulence factors responsible for the severe course of disease and the factors of the immune system contributing to the control of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) or even to the damage of the brain. To analyze the importance of the actA gene of LM, which mediates cell-to-cell spread of intracellular LM, the function of TNF in murine cerebral listeriosis was studied. C57BL/6 mice survived an intracerebral (i.c.) infection with actA-deficient LM, but succumbed to infection with wild-type (WT) LM. Upon infection with actA-deficient LM, macrophages and microglial cells rapidly, and later LM-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells, produced TNF. In contrast to WT mice, TNF-deficient animals succumbed to the infection within 4 days due to failure of control of LM. Histology identified a more severe meningoencephalitis, brain edema, and neuronal damage, but a reduced inducible NO synthase expression in TNF-deficient mice. Reciprocal bone marrow chimeras between WT and TNF-deficient mice revealed that hematogenously derived TNF was essential for survival, whereas TNF produced by brain-resident cells was less important. Death of TNF-deficient mice could be prevented by LM-specific T cells induced by an active immunization before i.c. infection. However, brain pathology and inflammation of immunized TNF-deficient mice were still more severe. In conclusion, these findings identify a crucial role of TNF for the i.c. control of LM and survival of cerebral listeriosis, whereas TNF was not responsible for the destruction of brain tissue.

Listeria monocytogenes may infect the central nervous system and several peripheral organs. To explore the function of IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1) in cerebral versus systemic listeriosis , IL-1R1 ؊/؊ and wild-type mice were infected either intracerebrally or intraperitoneally with L. monocytogenes. After intracerebral infection with various numbers of attenuated Listeria , IL-1R1 ؊/؊ mice succumbed due to an insufficient control of intracerebral Listeria , whereas all wild-type mice survived , efficiently restricting growth of Listeria. IL-1R1؊/؊ mice recruited increased numbers of leukocytes , especially granulocytes , to the brain compared with wild-type mice. In contrast , both IL-1R1 ؊/؊ and wild-type mice survived a primary and secondary intraperitoneal infection with Listeria without differences in the hepatic bacterial load. In addition , both strains developed similar frequencies of Listeriaspecific CD4 and CD8 T cells after primary and secondary intraperitoneal infection. However , an intraperitoneal immunization before intracerebral challenge infection neither protected IL-1R1 ؊/؊ mice from death nor reduced the intracerebral bacterial load, although numbers of intracerebral Listeria-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells and levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor, and interferon-␥ mRNA were identical in IL-1R1 ؊/؊ and wild-type mice. Collectively, these findings illustrate a crucial role of IL-1R1 in cerebral but not systemic listeriosis. (Am J