Th1 to Th2 Skew Immunity/Allergies/Atopy

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Th1 to Th2 Skew Immunity/Allergies/Atopy

From Sebastiana in Australia

While I would agree, I'd like to see the idea that the very nature of

vaccines, (weakened viruses - theory of Farhad Imani Ph.D at

Hopkins University - and simple vaccine toxicity i.e. adjuvants like

aluminum, formaldehyde, antibiotics etc.) play a role. Particularly

as allergies seem to develop in the first few years of life, before

children used to encounter 'normal' childhood infectious diseases. My

guess is that it is these parts of vaccines that can skew a child's

immune system towards a more Th2 biased cytokine profile.

Perhaps suppression of diseases like measles, rubella etc. through

vaccination just adds fuel to the fire?

Journal Home Page : http://www.karger.com/journals/iaa/iaa_jh.htm

" Evidence has been accumulated to suggest that allergen-reactive Th2

cells play a triggering role in the activation and/or recruitment of

IgE antibody-producing B cells, mast cells and eosinophils, the

cellular triad involved in allergic inflammation. "

The citation is in PubMed but there was no abstract available. I got

the original from the med library and typed it out.

Here is the link for the citation in PubMed:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uid\

s=10371102 & dopt=Abstract

Allergy

April 1999

Volume 54, pp. 398-399

MULTIPLE VACCINATION EFFECTS ON ATOPY

A.W. -,

School of Biology,

University of Leeds,

Leeds, UK

Asthma, tuberculosis, cancer, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and Gulf War

syndrome have all been linked recently to a shift in the immune

profile favouring a T helper 2 (Th2) cell bias (1). In the UK, this

situation has been associated with the multiple vaccinations given to

troops before Gulf combat (2). This has led to the suggestion to

manipulate the immune response in order to encourage the development

of Th1 cells and thereby to counter the effects of these conditions,

but this has led to concern that this will not be achieved without

some form of immunologic penalty (1).

My concern, however, is the price we may be already paying for the

immune deviation toward a Th2 profile.

The soldiers in question were immunized against anthrax, cholera,

plague, tetanus, typhoid, and pertussis (whooping cough), all of

which require potent Th2-inducing vaccines. This large antigen

loading further favours a systemic shift toward a Th2 predominance

and associated cytokine profile (1) and has raised questions

regarding the safety of the procedure. A UK government report

confirms that troops received a pertussis vaccine as an adjuvant for

the anthrax vaccine, so that the latter was effective from 7 weeks

instead of 32 weeks. The use of pertussis vaccine in this way was

highly experimental, relying on the preliminary findings of Ministry of

Defence-sponsored research, and was performed despite a warning by

the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, a UK

regulatory control body (2).

This highlights a possible serious drawback of combined pertussis

vaccine use and is of considerable concern since pertussis

vaccination is known to be an etiologic factor in the development of

childhood asthma (3). The incidence of asthma is on the increase and

so is the use of multiple vaccination procedures. When pertussis is

combined with diphtheria and tetanus (the DTP vaccination given in

the UK to 8-week-old babies along with Hib and, in some cases,

tuberculosis), the same immune deviation develops, a bias towards Th2

responsiveness. The pertussis vaccine may not be the culprit in the

case of asthma, but may be a marker for the effects

of multiple vaccination, as it is not usually given in isolation.

Apprehension about this apparent shift in immune cell populations is

clear. In a Th2-dominant system, interleukins (IL) 4, 5, and 13 are

upregulated, along with excessive synthesis of IgE via clonal

expansion and secretion of IL-4 (4). Combine this with the resultant

enhanced eosinophil activity, and all the ingredients are present for

atopic conditions such as asthma, eczema, hay fever, and food

intolerances to develop. By contrast, a bias toward Th1-regulated

cytokine synthesis would inhibit type 1 hypersensitivity reactions

via IFN gamma, which counterregulates IL-4 and thereby decreases IgE

production. The balance between IFN gamma and IL-4

determines the level of IgE synthesis. This interrelationship is key

since these cytokines are secreted by Th1 and Th2 cells,

respectively, supporting

the concept that immune balance is crucial if atopy is to be avoided (4).

Multiple vaccinations shift this delicate balance, favouring the

development of atopy and, perhaps, autoimmunity through vaccine-induced

polyclonal activation leading to autoantibody production. An increase in

the incidence of childhood atopic diseases may be expected as a result of

concurrent vaccination strategies that induce a Th2-biased immune response.

What should be discussed is whether the prize of a reduction of common

infectious diseases through a policy of mass vaccination from birth is

worth the price of a higher prevalence of atopy.

References

1. Rook GAW, Zumla A. Gulf War syndrome: is it due to a systemic shift in

cytokine balance towards a Th2 profile? Lancet 1997;349:1831-1833.

2. D. Admission on Gulf War vaccines spurs debate on medical

records. Nature 1997;390:3-4.

3. Kemp T, Pearce N, Fitzharris Pet al. Is infant immunization a risk

factor for childhood asthma or allergy? Epidemiology 1997;8:678-680.

4. Del Prete G. The concept of type-1 and type-2 helper T cells and their

cytokines in humans. Int Rev Immunol 1998;16:427-455.

*******

3. Mark A; Bjorksten B; Granstrom M. Immunoglobulin E responses to

diphtheria and

tetanus toxoids after booster with aluminium-adsorbed

and fluid DT-vaccines. Vaccine

1995 May;13(7):669-73

4. Gupta RK. Aluminum compounds as vaccine adjuvants.

Adv Drug Deliv Rev 1998

Jul 6;32(3):155-172

5. Vassilev TL. Aluminium phosphate but not calcium

phosphate stimulates the specific

IgE response in guinea pigs to tetanus toxoid. Allergy

1978 Jun;33(3):155-9 6. Rook

GA, Stanford JL. Give us this day our daily germs.

Immunol Today 1998

Mar;19(3):113-6

7. - AW. Multiple vaccination effects on

atopy. Allergy 1999

Apr;54(4):398-400

8. Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H. Effects of

diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis or tetanus

vaccination on allergies and allergy-related

respiratory symptoms among children and

adolescents in the United States. J Manipulative

Physiol Ther 2000 Feb;23(2):81-90

9. Romagnani S. T-cell subsets (Th1 versus Th2). ls

of Allergy, Asthma, &

Immunology 2000;85:9-21

*******

ARCHIVES OF PEDIATRICS & ADOLESCENT MEDICINE

October 2000, Vol 154, No 10,

>Universal Childhood Vaccinations: A Faustian Bargain?

L. Hurwitz, DC, PhD

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/issues/v154n10/ffull/plt1000-4.html