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Updated: Apr 23, 2026

A Neonatal Imaging Model of Gram-Negative Bacterial Sepsis
Published on: August 12, 2020
Standard of hygiene and immune adaptation in newborn infants
Henna Kallionpää1, Essi Laajala2, Viveka Öling3
1Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, 20521 Turku, Finland; Turku Doctoral Programme of Biomedical Sciences, Kiinamyllynkatu 13, 20520 Turku, Finland; The Finnish Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research, Finland.
Abstract:
The prevalence of immune-mediated diseases, such as allergies and type 1 diabetes, is on the rise in the developed world. In order to explore differences in the gene expression patterns induced in utero in infants born in contrasting standards of living and hygiene, we collected umbilical cord blood RNA samples from infants born in Finland (modern society), Estonia (rapidly developing society) and the Republic of Karelia, Russia (poor economic conditions). The whole blood transcriptome of Finnish and Estonian neonates differed from their Karelian counterparts, suggesting exposure to toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and a more matured immune response in infants born in Karelia. These results further support the concept of a conspicuous plasticity in the developing immune system: the environmental factors that play a role in the susceptibility/protection towards immune-mediated diseases begin to shape the neonatal immunity already in utero and direct the maturation in accordance with the surrounding microbial milieu.
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