Early-life risk factors which govern pro-allergic immunity

Abstract

Allergic diseases affect up to 40% of the global population with a substantial rise in food allergies, in particular, over the past decades. For the majority of individuals with allergy fundamental programming of a pro-allergic immune system largely occurs in early childhood where it is crucially governed by prenatal genetic and environmental factors, including their interactions. These factors include several genetic aberrations, such as filaggrin loss-of-function mutations, early exposure to respiratory syncytial virus, and various chemicals such as plasticizers, as well as the influence of the gut microbiome and numerous lifestyle circumstances. The effects of such a wide range of factors on allergic responses to an array of potential allergens is complex and the severity of these responses in a clinical setting are subsequently not easy to predict at the present time. However, some parameters which condition a pro-allergic immune response, including severe anaphylaxis, are becoming clearer. This review summarises what we currently know, and don’t know, about the factors which influence developing pro-allergic immunity particularly during the early-life perinatal period.