Different implications of paternal and maternal atopy for perinatal IgE production and asthma development

Abstract

Asthma is a hereditary disease associated with IgE-mediated reaction. Whether maternal atopy and paternal atopy have different impacts on perinatal IgE production and asthma development remains unclear. This paper reviews and summarizes the effects of maternal and paternal atopy on the developmental aspects of IgE production and asthma. Maternal atopy affects both pre- and postnatal IgE production, whereas paternal atopy mainly affects the latter. Maternally transmitted genes GSTP1 and FceRI-beta are associated with lung function and allergic sensitization, respectively. In IgE production and asthma development, the maternal influence on gene-environment interaction is greater than paternal influence. Maternal, paternal, and/or postnatal environmental modulation of allergic responses have been linked to epigenetic mechanisms, which may be good targets for early prevention of asthma.

Figure 1

Different implications of maternal and paternal IgE levels for antenatal IgE level and postnatal IgE production at different ages in our cohort study. (a), (c): Maternal (Ma) atopy, defined as IgE > 150 kU/L, but not paternal (Pa) atopy, significantly affected antenatal IgE production, reflected by CBIgE elevation (>0.5 kU/L). (b), (d): Maternal atopy (solid circles) was significantly associated with log-transformed IgE levels at 6 months (6 m), 18 months (18 m), 3 years (36 m), and 6 years (6 y) of age, whereas paternal atopy (open circles) was only significantly associated with log-transformed levels at 3 and 6 years of age.