Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Clin Exp Allergy. 2020 Oct;50(10):1148-1158. doi: 10.1111/cea.13728. Epub 2020 Sep 18.
After the Second World War, the population living in the Karelian region was strictly divided by the "iron curtain" between Finland and Russia. This resulted in different lifestyle, standard of living, and exposure to the environment. Allergic manifestations and sensitization to common allergens have been much more common on the Finnish compared to the Russian side.
The remarkable allergy disparity in the Finnish and Russian Karelia calls for immunological explanations.
Young people, aged 15-20 years, in the Finnish (n = 69) and Russian (n = 75) Karelia were studied. The impact of genetic variation on the phenotype was studied by a genome-wide association analysis. Differences in gene expression (transcriptome) were explored from the blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and related to skin and nasal epithelium microbiota and sensitization.
The genotype differences between the Finnish and Russian populations did not explain the allergy gap. The network of gene expression and skin and nasal microbiota was richer and more diverse in the Russian subjects. When the function of 261 differentially expressed genes was explored, innate immunity pathways were suppressed among Russians compared to Finns. Differences in the gene expression paralleled the microbiota disparity. High Acinetobacter abundance in Russians correlated with suppression of innate immune response. High-total IgE was associated with enhanced anti-viral response in the Finnish but not in the Russian subjects.
Young populations living in the Finnish and Russian Karelia show marked differences in genome-wide gene expression and host contrasting skin and nasal epithelium microbiota. The rich gene-microbe network in Russians seems to result in a better-balanced innate immunity and associates with low allergy prevalence.
第二次世界大战后，居住在卡累利阿地区的人口被芬兰和俄罗斯之间的“铁幕”严格分隔。这导致了不同的生活方式、生活水平和环境暴露。与俄罗斯一侧相比，芬兰一侧常见过敏原的过敏表现和致敏更为常见。
芬兰和俄罗斯卡累利阿地区显著的过敏差异需要免疫学解释。
研究了芬兰（n=69）和俄罗斯（n=75）卡累利阿的年轻人，年龄在 15-20 岁之间。通过全基因组关联分析研究遗传变异对表型的影响。从血液单核细胞（PBMC）中探索基因表达（转录组）的差异，并将其与皮肤和鼻腔上皮微生物群和致敏相关联。
芬兰和俄罗斯人群之间的基因型差异不能解释过敏差距。俄罗斯受试者的基因表达网络与皮肤和鼻腔微生物群更加丰富和多样化。当探索 261 个差异表达基因的功能时，与芬兰人相比，俄罗斯人的先天免疫途径受到抑制。基因表达的差异与微生物群的差异平行。俄罗斯人中丰度较高的不动杆菌与先天免疫反应的抑制有关。高总 IgE 与芬兰人而非俄罗斯人中增强的抗病毒反应相关。
居住在芬兰和俄罗斯卡累利阿的年轻人群在全基因组基因表达和宿主对比鲜明的皮肤和鼻腔上皮微生物群方面存在显著差异。俄罗斯人丰富的基因-微生物网络似乎导致先天免疫更好地平衡，并与低过敏患病率相关。
