Abstract
Background: Vaccination has been suggested to be associated with increased risk of allergic diseases. Tetanus vaccination (TTV) is one of the most frequently administered vaccines as a part of wound management and was found to be associated with increased serum IgE.
Objectives: We propose that TTV may modify the risk of allergic diseases through epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation (DNA-M).
Method: Data on TTV between 10 to 18 years of age was collected from a birth cohort established on Isle of Wight UK in 1989. DNA-M was measured at age 18 (n=370) using Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450K array. In step1 we identified cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites (CpGs) associated with TTV. In step2 we tested the association of these CpGs with allergic outcomes. Finally, we investigated their association with serum IgE and pulmonary lung function tests (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF 25-75%).
Results: The prevalence of asthma among vaccinated individuals was lower (13%) compared to non-vaccinated individuals (22%). TTV was found to be associated with decreased methylation of cg14472551 (p value 0.5*10-5, FDR p value 2.1*10-4) and increased methylation of cg01669161 (p value 0.0007, FDR p value 0.014). Both CpG sites, in turn, were associated with decreased risk of asthma at 18 years of age. Cg14472551 is located on one of the KIAA genes (KIAA1549L, unknown function); cg01669161 is located in the intergenic regions of KIAA1908 and TFAMP1 (non-coding RNA). Increased methylation of cg01669161 was also associated with decreased serum IgE.
Conclusion: Vaccination may offer a novel prospect to investigate and explain a differential occurrence of asthma in children/adolescence.
- Copyright ©the authors 2016
