Environmental exposure in childhood and its PROTECTive role for respiratory ALLergies: Investigating molecular mechanisms in a longitudinal birth cohort through adolescence

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Bianca Schaub
• Subject Area: Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 578242799

PASTURE is a multinational birth cohort in Europe including 5 countries with the aim of investigating the influence of the farming environment on the onset and progression of respiratory allergies (with focus on asthma and allergic rhinitis) up to adolescence (16 years). This study has already shown that growing up on a farm is the strongest identified protective environmental factor worldwide to date, significantly reducing the risk of childhood allergies. Within the framework of this application, the first objective is to identify whether protective environmental exposures affect the onset and persistence of allergic diseases up to adolescence. This is crucial for later public health prevention measures, as it affects a large population from childhood to adolescence. In the second objective, we aim to identify underlying molecular endotypes relevant for the onset of allergic diseases and their persistence into adolescence (with focus on asthma / hay fever) in the context of protective environmental exposures. This will be investigated by means of central state-of-the-art and high-throughput analyses. These include the study of molecular pattern associated with protective environmental factors, disease onset and persistence, specifically RNA-Seq, metabolomics and proteomics. In addition, antibody levels against central pathogens and against LPS are examined and regulatory markers and inflammatory cytokines are measured. These multi-omics will be integrated with antibody data into endotypes using a multidimensional approach. In the third objective, we will functionally disentangle central mechanisms of environmentally mediated immune regulation until adolescence. This includes identifying cellular patterns on single cell level for allergy protection in adolescence at age 16 years with State-of the Art technology (mass cytometry, CyTOF and CITE-seq). Morever, the impact of trained immunity on development of respiratory allergies will be investigated and adaptive immunity following farm dust stimulation will be assessed focusing on T and B-cells. The extension of the PASTURE analyses to investigate the protection against respiratory allergies at onset and during persistence of disease in adolescence together and from individual methods to a global analysis approach is crucial. This faciliates translating the mechanisms of this world's strongest protection against respiratory allergies into a public health approach to prevention in the medium term. Only through a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of the complex mechanisms in concert, this can be translated into safe prevention strategies that cover onset and persistence of disease up to adolescence.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Partner Organisation: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF)
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Remo Frei, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Caroline Roduit, Ph.D.