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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Generating a Reproducible Model of Mid-Gestational Maternal Immune Activation using Poly(I:C) to Study Susceptibility and Resilience in Offspring
09:09

Generating a Reproducible Model of Mid-Gestational Maternal Immune Activation using Poly(I:C) to Study Susceptibility and Resilience in Offspring

Published on: August 17, 2022

Maternal immune status in pregnancy is related to offspring's immune responses and atopy risk

G Herberth1, D Hinz, S Röder

  • 1Department of Environmental Immunology, UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig, Germany.

Allergy
|March 30, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Maternal immune responses during pregnancy influence infant immunity. Maternal IgE predicts infant IgE, and maternal atopic dermatitis (AD) is linked to childhood AD, but not inflammatory cytokines.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Pediatrics
  • Allergy Research

Background:

  • Maternal immune system influence on child's immune competence is not well understood.
  • Pregnancy immune responses may impact atopic disease development.
  • Prospective birth cohort study to analyze mother-child immune responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate maternal immune system effects on children's immune maturation.
  • Determine links between maternal immune responses and childhood disease risks.
  • Analyze cytokine and IgE levels in mother-child pairs.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective birth cohort study (LINA study) with 353 mother-child pairs.
  • Measured Th1/Th2/Th17, inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, and IgE in maternal blood (34th week gestation) and cord/1-year-old children's blood.
  • Collected atopic outcome data via questionnaires.

Main Results:

  • Cord blood had higher inflammatory markers than maternal blood.
  • Infants showed lower Th1/Th2 cytokines with a Th2 bias at birth.
  • Maternal inflammatory markers (MCP-1, IL-10, TNF-α) correlated with children's levels at age one.
  • High maternal IgE associated with higher infant IgE; maternal AD linked to childhood AD.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal inflammatory cytokines correlate with children's levels at age one, but not IgE or AD.
  • Maternal IgE predicts infant IgE.
  • Childhood atopic dermatitis is associated with maternal disease.
Abstract

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