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Author Spotlight: Microbial Control and Monitoring Strategies for Cleanroom Environments and Cellular Therapies
Published on: March 17, 2023
Microbial exposures that establish immunoregulation are compatible with targeted hygiene
Graham A W Rook1, Sally F Bloomfield2
1Centre for Clinical Microbiology, Department of Infection, UCL (University College London), London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Targeted hygiene practices are crucial for immune system development. Focusing on essential microbial exposures while minimizing harmful ones protects children from infections and allergies.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Public Health
Background:
- The hygiene hypothesis suggests a conflict between hygiene and immune system development.
- Modern lifestyles may alter essential microbial exposures for children.
- Allergic and immunoregulatory disorders are increasing globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate hygiene practices in the context of human evolution and immune development.
- To propose a targeted approach to hygiene that balances infection prevention with essential microbial exposure.
- To address the role of cleaning agents and media narratives in immunoregulatory disorders.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of microbial exposures across human evolutionary and historical contexts.
- Evaluation of the impact of modern home environments and vaccines on immune development.
- Assessment of the potential adjuvant effects of cleaning agents on allergic responses.
Main Results:
- Children require exposure to maternal, familial, and environmental microbiotas, but not necessarily the modern home microbiota.
- Vaccines may offer some benefits previously attributed to childhood infections.
- Cleaning agents may promote allergic responses by exerting TH2-adjuvant effects.
- Misplaced blame on hygiene for immunoregulatory disorders is prevalent in scientific and media publications.
Conclusions:
- Targeted hygiene, focusing on key risk moments and sites, can optimize infection protection while preserving essential microbial exposures.
- Reducing children's direct exposure to cleaning agents is vital to prevent allergic responses.
- Challenging the narrative that hygiene is solely responsible for increased immunoregulatory disorders is necessary.
- Appropriately targeted hygiene is compatible with a healthy lifestyle that supports immune development through microbial exposure.
Abstract:
It is often suggested that hygiene is not compatible with the microbial exposures that are necessary for establishment of the immune system in early life. However, when we analyze the microbial exposures of modern humans in the context of human evolution and history, it becomes evident that whereas children need exposure to the microbiotas of their mothers, other family members, and the natural environment, exposure to the unnatural microbiota of the modern home is less relevant. In addition, any benefits of exposure to the infections of childhood within their household setting are at least partly replaced by the recently revealed nonspecific effects of vaccines. This article shows how targeting hygiene practices at key risk moments and sites can maximize protection against infection while minimizing any impact on essential microbial exposures. Moreover, this targeting must aim to reduce direct exposure of children to cleaning agents because those agents probably exert TH2-adjuvant effects that trigger allergic responses to normally innocuous antigens. Finally, we need to halt the flow of publications in the scientific literature and the media that blame hygiene for the increases in immunoregulatory disorders. Appropriately targeted hygiene behavior is compatible with a healthy lifestyle that promotes exposure to essential microorganisms.
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