Johanna Teräsjärvi

Food matrices and cell conditions influence survival of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG under heat stresses and during storage

The present study evaluated impact of moisture content and cell conditions on survival of probiotic strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, under lethal heat stresses and during long-term storage using freeze-dried cells and oils as matrices. Viable cell counts of freeze-dried L. rhamnosus GG cells suspended in oils had only 1-log-reduction after 5min at 80°C and approximately 3-log-reduction after 20min, while no or very few viable cells were recorded for freeze dried cells suspended in buffer and cultured cells in oils. Surprisingly, freeze-dried cells suspended in oils still contained 4.3 to 6.7logCFU/ml after 5min at 95°C. Long-term storage study indicated that freeze-dried cells suspended in oils kept viable conditions for 4months, and a loss of the viability was only 0.3 to 0.6logCFU/ml. Viable cell counts of cultured cells suspended in oils were not present after 3days to 3months. These results clearly indicate that moisture and cell conditions have a great impact on survival of probiotics under severe heat stress in processing and during long-term storage. Combination of freeze-dried cells and oils as carrier provides beneficial options to preserve viability of probiotics in food processes and storage.

IL-10 Gene Polymorphism Is Associated With Preschool Atopy and Early-Life Recurrent Wheezing After Bronchiolitis in Infancy

Variations in the genes that regulate innate immunity responses may be associated with susceptibility to asthma or atopy after early‐life bronchiolitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between four different polymorphisms of the IL‐10 gene at rs1800871, rs1800872, rs1800890, and rs1800896, either alone or in combination, and post‐bronchiolitis asthma or allergies at 5–7 years of age.

Acquisition and Transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae Are Facilitated during Rhinovirus Infection in Families with Children

Rationale: Laboratory and clinical evidence suggests synergy between rhinoviruses and Streptococcus pneumoniae in the pathogenesis of respiratory tract infections. However, it is unclear whether rhinoviruses promote pneumococcal acquisition and transmission. Objectives: To describe the impact of rhinovirus infection on the acquisition and transmission of pneumococci within families with children. Methods: We investigated 29 families with at least two children. The follow‐up started at the onset of respiratory infectious symptoms in any family member and consisted of daily symptom diary and nasal swab samples from each participant twice per week for 3 weeks. Swabs were taken by the parents and sent to a study clinic by mail. Rhinoviruses were detected by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and typed by sequencing. Pneumococci were identified by an antigen test and by standard culture methods, serotyping, and whole‐genome sequencing. The effect of rhinovirus infection on the rates of pneumococcal acquisition and within‐family transmission was estimated from the observed acquisition events and person‐times spent uncolonized, using Poisson regression. Measurements and Main Results: Rhinovirus was detected in 38 subjects (30%) at the onset and in 86 subjects (67%) during the follow‐up. S. pneumoniae was detected on the first day in 9 (7%) and during follow‐up in 38 (30%) subjects. Children with rhinovirus infection had a 4.3‐fold rate of pneumococcal acquisition from the community (95% confidence interval, 1.1‐15.4) and a 14.8‐fold rate of within‐family transmission (95% confidence interval, 3.1‐69.6) compared with children without rhinovirus infection. Conclusions: Rhinovirus infection within families facilitates acquisition and within‐family transmission of S. pneumoniae.

Polymorphism in the gene encoding toll-like receptor 10 may be associated with asthma after bronchiolitis

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognise microbes that contribute to the severity of bronchiolitis and the subsequent risk of asthma. We evaluated whether post-bronchiolitis asthma was associated with polymorphisms in the TLR3 rs3775291, TLR4 rs4986790, TLR7 rs179008, TLR8 rs2407992, TLR9 rs187084, and TLR10 rs4129009 genes. The gene polymorphisms were studied at the age of 6.4 years (mean) in 135 children hospitalised for bronchiolitis in infancy. The outcome measure was current or previous asthma. Current asthma was more common (30%) in children with the variant AG or GG genotype in the TLR10 rs4129009 gene versus those who were homozygous for the major allele A (11%) (p = 0.03). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) was 4.30 (95% CI 1.30–14.29). Asthma ever was more common (34.6%) in girls with the TLR7 variant AT or TT genotype versus those who were homozygous for the major allele A (12.5%) (p = 0.03). The adjusted OR was 3.93 (95% CI 1.06–14.58). Corresponding associations were not seen in boys. There were no significant associations between TLR3, TLR4, TLR8, or TLR9 polymorphisms and post-bronchiolitis asthma. Polymorphism in the TLR10 gene increases and in the TLR7 gene may increase the risk of asthma in preschool-aged children after infant bronchiolitis.

Post-bronchiolitis wheezing is associated with toll-like receptor 9 rs187084 gene polymorphism

Innate immunity receptors play a critical role in host defence, as well as in allergy and asthma. The aim of this exploratory study was to evaluate whether there are associations between TLR7 rs179008, TLR8 rs2407992, TLR9 rs187084 or TLR10 rs4129009 polymorphisms and viral findings, clinical characteristics or subsequent wheezing in infants with bronchiolitis. In all, 135 full-term infants were hospitalized for bronchiolitis at age less than 6 months: 129 of them were followed-up until the age of 1.5 years. The outcome measures were repeated wheezing, use of inhaled corticosteroids, atopic dermatitis during the first 1.5 years of life and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE). There were no significant associations between the genotypes or allele frequencies of TLR7 rs179008, TLR8 rs2407992, TLR9 rs187084 or TLR10 rs4129009 polymorphisms and clinical characteristics or the severity of bronchiolitis during hospitalization. During follow-up, repeated wheezing was more common in children with TLR9 rs187084 variant genotype CC (30.5%) than in children with TLR9 wild-type genotype TT (12.2%) (p = 0.02, aOR 2.73, 95% CI 1.02–7.29). The TLR10 rs4129009 minor allele G was associated with elevated total serum IgE. TLR9 rs187084 gene polymorphism may be associated with post-bronchiolitis wheezing, and TLR10 rs4129009 gene polymorphism may be associated with atopy.

Toll-like receptor 1 and 10 gene polymorphisms are linked to post-bronchiolitis asthma in adolescence

Toll‐like receptors (TLR) are innate immunity molecules and our previous studies found that TLR1 gene polymorphism was associated with postbronchiolitis asthma at one to six years of age, as was TLR10 at five to seven years of age. This study examined any associations at 11–13 years of age.

Rapid detection of functional gene polymorphisms of TLRs and IL-17 using high resolution melting analysis

Genetic variations in toll-like receptors (TLRs) and IL-17A have been widely connected to different diseases. Associations between susceptibility and resistance to different infections and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLR1 to TLR4 and IL17A have been found. In this study, we aimed to develop a rapid and high throughput method to detect functional SNPs of above mentioned proteins. The following most studied and clinically important SNPs: TLR1 (rs5743618), TLR2 (rs5743708), TLR3 (rs3775291), TLR4 (rs4986790) and IL17 (rs2275913) were tested. High resolution melting analysis (HRMA) based on real-time PCR combined with melting analysis of a saturating double stranded-DNA binding dye was developed and used. The obtained results were compared to the “standard” sequencing method. A total of 113 DNA samples with known genotypes were included. The HRMA method correctly identified all genotypes of these five SNPs. Co-efficient values of variation of intra- and inter-run precision repeatability ranged from 0.04 to 0.23%. The determined limit of qualification for testing samples was from 0.5 to 8.0 ng/μl. The identical genotyping result was obtained from the same sample with these concentrations. Compared to “standard” sequencing methods HRMA is cost-effective, rapid and simple. All the five SNPs can be analyzed separately or in combination.

Interleukin-10 gene promoter region polymorphisms are not associated with BCG osteitis in vaccinated infants.

SETTING Complications arising from bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination were recorded in a national register in Finland until 1988. In the period 1960-1988, 222 patients suffered from BCG osteitis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of the gene encoding interleukin 10 (IL-10) are associated with BCG osteitis after vaccination in neonates. DESIGN Blood samples of 132 former BCG osteitis patients now aged 21-49 years were analysed in a controlled study for IL10 rs1800896 (-1082G/A), rs1800871 (-819C/T), rs1800872 (-592C/A) and rs1800890 (-3575T/A) polymorphisms. RESULTS The frequencies of genotypes of IL10 rs1800896, rs1800871, rs1800872 and rs1800890, the frequencies of variant genotypes and the frequencies of major or minor alleles did not differ between patients and controls. Furthermore, the frequencies of the eight possible combinations of the three IL10 alleles located close to each other (IL10 rs1800896, IL10 rs1800871 and IL10 rs1800872) were surprisingly similar. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that polymorphisms of the IL-10 encoding gene do not play a central role in the development of complications due to BCG vaccination, although the IL10 gene, especially IL10 rs1800896 (-1082G/A) polymorphism, is known to be associated with tuberculosis risk in Europeans and North Americans.

Haplotype of the Interleukin 17A gene is associated with osteitis after Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) osteitis was more common in Finland than elsewhere at the time when universal BCG vaccinations were given to Finnish newborns. There is evidence that IL-17 plays a role in the defense against tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of IL17A rs4711998, IL17A rs8193036 and IL17A rs2275913 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the risk of BCG osteitis after newborn vaccination. IL17A rs4711998, rs8193036 and rs2275913 SNPs were determined in 131 adults had presented with BCG osteitis after newborn BCG vaccination. We analyzed, using the HaploView and PLINK programs, whether allele or haplotype frequencies of these SNPs differ between the former BCG osteitis patients and Finnish population controls. Of the three IL17A SNPs studied, rs4711998 associated nominally with BCG osteitis; minor allele frequency was 0.215 in 130 BCG osteitis cases and 0.298 in 99 controls (p = 0.034). Frequency of the second common haplotype (GTA) differed significantly between BCG osteitis cases and controls (0.296 vs. 0.184, p = 0.040 after multi-testing correction). The GTA haplotype of the IL17A SNPs rs4711998, rs8193036 and rs2275913 was associated with osteitis after BCG vaccination.

Interleukin 17A gene polymorphism rs2275913 is associated with osteitis after the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination

Interleukin‐17 (IL‐17) appears to promote the hosts defence against mycobacterial infections. This study evaluated the association between IL17A gene polymorphism and the risk of Bacillus Calmette‐Guérin (BCG) osteitis after newborn vaccination and between IL17A gene polymorphism and IL‐17A concentrations in serum.