January 2002

Innate Factors in Immune System Maturation

by Daniel J. Murphy, DC, FACO

            Dan Murphy graduated magna cum laude from Western States Chiropractic College in 1978, and has more than 20 years of practice experience. He received Diplomat status in Chiropractic Orthopedics in 1986. Since 1982, Dr. Murphy has served part-time as undergraduate faculty at Life Chiropractic College West, currently teaching classes to seniors in the management of spinal disorders.

            Dr. Murphy is on the post-graduate faculty of several chiropractic colleges. His post-graduate continuing education classes include “Whiplash and Spinal Trauma” and “Pain Neurology.” Dr. Murphy is the coordinator of a year-long certification program in “Chiropractic Spinal Trauma,” now (2000) in its twelfth year of being offered. This year, the program is being offered through the International Chiropractors Association of California. He has taught more than 700 post-graduate continuing education seminars.

            Dr. Murphy is a contributing author to the book Motor Vehicle Collision Injuries, published by Aspen, 1996; and to the book Pediatric Chiropractic, published by Williams & Wilkins, 1998. He writes a quarterly column in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic.

            In 1987, 1991 and 1995 Dr. Murphy received the Post-graduate Educator of the Year award, given by the International Chiropractic Association.

            In 1997, he received The Carl S. Cleveland, Jr., Educator of the Year award, given by the International Chiropractic Association of California.

William Walsh, in his book Food Allergies,1 notes a relationship between “nerve irritation” and allergies.  Recently, Parkin and Cohen,2 in their article on immunology state: “It is becoming clear that the immune system does not work in isolation, but has close communications with other tissues.  The interaction of the immune cells with the neurological and endocrine systems is now documented.” This concept of neuro-immune interaction is important for chiropractors.

            Most chiropractors have primary experience in helping people with allergy symptoms through chiropractic spinal adjustments. 

            Recently, other factors have been linked with the lifelong propensity

to suffer from allergies.  This article briefly reviews these other factors.  The references that I cite have a single central theme:

One’s lifelong propensity to suffer from allergies is largely determined by factors that influence the maturation of the immune system while in utero and during the first two or three years of life.

            Two simple but informative books pertaining to immune system function are:  How The Immune System Works, by Lauren Sompayrac, Blackwell Science, 1999.3  Medical Immunology Made Memorable, by J. Playfair and P. Lydyard, Churchill Livingstone, 2000.4

            Both of these references discuss the maturation of the immune system, the innate immune response, and the adaptive immune response.  These articles will discuss factors that have been linked with the lifelong propensity to suffer from allergies as related to the balance between the adaptive immune response propensity to produce immunoglobulin G (IgG) v. immunoglobulin E (IgE).

A more technical terminology for_allergy is ATOPIC DISORDERS, or ATOPY.

            Atopic Disorders include hay fever, eczema, asthma, auto immune

collagen diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc.), and even illnesses such as type II diabetes and multiple sclerosis.  The classic representative atopic disorder is asthma, as asthma rates have drastically increased over the last 40 years. Asthma rates in children have increased 160 percent in the last 20 years, making asthma the number one chronic illness of children in the Unites States.

Immunoglobulins IgG and IgE production are dependent upon the function of_Thymus cells, or T cells.

            IgG production is the best immune system response for most, but not

all, of what afflicts humans.  The sequence of events that leads to the

production of IgG is often referred to as the Th1 response, where “T” refers to thymus and “h” refers to helper cell.

            The sequence of events that leads to the production of IgE is often referred to as the Th2 response. IgE production is less desirable under most circumstances because of the propensity of IgE to attach itself to mast cells. This will cause the cell membrane of the mast cell to break apart, a process called “degranulation.” Degranulation of the mast cell membrane releases its chemicals, including histamine, into the extracellular spaces, which in turn causes the genesis of atopic disorders.

            Consequently, factors that drive the immune system to produce IgE (Th2

response) are undesirable.  And factors that drive the immune system to

produce IgG (Th1 response) are favored.

            Recent studies clearly note that if one develops the propensity to produce the Th2 IgE response early in life, that one will also have a propensity to suffer from atopic disorders throughout one’s life.9, 10, 11, 13

            In contrast, if one develops the propensity to produce the Th1 IgG response early in life, one will largely avoid atopic disorders throughout one’s life.9, 10, 11, 13

Note the following:

FACTORS THAT DRIVE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TOWARDS THE Th2 IgE RESPONSE:

            (A) Antibiotics in the first two years of life.5, 6, 9, 10, 13

            (B) Immunization with whole-cell pertussis vaccine.5

            (C) Reduced exposure to endotoxins (the breakdown byproduct of dead

bacterial cell membranes) as found in dust, dirt, and dander (The Hygiene Hypothesis).7, 10

            (D) Increased dietary exposure to omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids

(i.e. vegetable oils such as corn, sun, safflower).8, 9, 11, 12, 13

            (E) Insufficient dietary antioxidants.8, 13

            (F) Reduced dietary exposure to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e. flax, canola, fish oils EPA and DHA). 9, 11, 12, 13

            (G) Vaccination with live attenuated mumps and rubella virus.10

            (H) Not breast feeding for the first few months of life.11

            (I) In utero maternal diets high is omega-6 fatty acids and saturated fats.12

            (J) Exposure to diesel exhaust particles from the air.13

            (K) Exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants.13

            (L) Increased dietary exposure to saturated fats.13

FACTORS THAT DRIVE THE IMMUNE_SYSTEM TOWARDS THE Th1 IgG RESPONSE:

            (A) A lifestyle that restricts the use of antibiotics, antipyretics, and vaccinations.14

            (B) Increasing the number of childhood infections.10, 11, 13, 15, 16

            (C) Increased exposure to endotoxins (the breakdown byproduct of dead bacterial cell membranes) as found in dust, dirt, and dander.7, 10

            (D) Specifically, infection with measles.10

            (E) Increased dietary exposure to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e. flax, canola, fish oils EPA and DHA).11, 12, 13

            (F) Breast feeding for the first few months of life.11

            After reviewing this information, it appears justified to conclude that

human driven medical interventions, dietary alterations, and environmental alterations are the primary cause for the current global explosion of atopic disorders.  I refer to these factors as being against innate intelligence.

REFERENCES

1) Walsh, William, Food Allergies, Wiley, 2000.

2) Jacqueline Parkin, Byron Cohen; IMMUNOLOGY An Overview of the Immune System, The Lancet, Vol. 357, June 2, 2001, pp 1777-1789

3) How The Immune System Works, by Lauren Sompayrac, Blackwell Science, 1999.

4) Medical Immunology Made Memorable, by J. Playfair and P. Lydyard, Churchill Livingstone, 2000.

5) Farooqi IS and Hopkin JM, Early childhood infection and atopic disorder, Thorax, 1999, 53, 927-32.

6) Wickens K, Pearce N, Crane J, Beasley R; Antibiotic use in early childhood and the development of asthma. Clin Exp Allergy 1999 Jun;29(6):766-71.

7) Gereda JE, Leung DY, Thatayatikom A, Streib JE, Price MR, Klinnert MD, Liu AH; Relation between house-dust endotoxin exposure, type 1 T-cell development, and allergen sensitisation in infants at high risk of asthma. Lancet, 2000 May 13;355(9216):1680-3.

8) Wakai K, Okamoto K, Tamakoshi A, Lin Y, Nakayama T, Ohno Y; Seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and fatty acid intake: A cross-sectional study in Japan. Ann Epidemiol 2001 Jan;11(1):59-64.

9) Wahn U; The immunology of fetuses and infants: What drives the allergic march? Allergy 55  (7), 591-599 (2000).

10) Farhad Imani and Kelly E Kehoe; Infection of human B lymphocytes with MMR vaccine induces IgE class switching. Clin Immunol 2001 Sep;100(3):355-61

11) M M Habya, J K Peatb, G B Marksc, A J Woolcockc, S R Leederd;  Asthma in preschool children: prevalence and risk factors; Thorax 2001(August); 56:589-595.

12) Kankaanpaa P, Nurmela K, Erkkila A, Kalliomaki M, Holmberg-Marttila D, Salminen S, Isolauri E. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in maternal diet, breast milk, and serum lipid fatty acids of infants in relation to atopy; Allergy 2001 Jul;56(7): 633-638.

13) O. Strannegård and I-L. Strannegård; The causes of the increasing prevalence of allergy: Is atopy a microbial deprivation disorder? Allergy 56 (2), 91-102, 2001.

14) Alm JS, Swartz J, Lilja G, Scheynius A, Pershagen G. Atopy in children of families with an anthroposophic lifestyle. Lancet. 1999 May 1;353(9163): 1485-8.

15) Thomas M. Ball, Jose A. Castro-Rodriguez, Kent A. Griffith, Catharine J. Holberg, Fernando D. Martinez, Anne L. Wright; Siblings, Day-Care Attendance, and the Risk of Asthma and Wheezing during Childhood; New England Journal of Medicine, Aug. 24, 2000, Vol. 343, No. 8, 538-43.

16) Christiansen SC; Day Care, Siblings, and Asthma — Please, Sneeze on My Child; The New England Journal of Medicine — August 24, 2000 —Vol. 343, No. 8.