Birth Cohort: Development of IgE Autoantibodies in Newborns With (High Risk of) Atopic Dermatitis

Summary

Previous research has shown that some patients with atopic eczema have specific self-reactive antibodies, known as IgE autoantibodies, that react to their own skin cells, referred to as "self-reactive antibodies" or "autoantibodies". It is not yet known when and how these self-reactive antibodies develop, so this is what we aim to investigate.

This study aims to examine the presence of self-reactive antibodies at birth. In other words, the investigators want to study the earliest stage of developing antibodies that target the body's own skin cells. Additionally, factors that contribute to the development of these self-reactive antibodies will be explored as well as the correlation with the development of atopic eczema.

The study will involve newborns who are at an increased risk of developing atopic eczema due to a family history of asthma, hay fever, or atopic eczema. There will also be a control group of newborns without these characteristics. The study's approach is to examine a portion of the umbilical cord blood, which is routinely collected after birth, to investigate self-reactive antibodies. The goal is to determine whether these self-reactive antibodies are linked to the development of atopic eczema in the first two years of life. For this purpose, follow-ups will be conducted at the ages of 6, 12, and 24 months.

This study will contribute to an increased understanding of the prevalence of self-reactive antibodies and the factors influencing their development. Moreover, the study will determine whether these antibodies play a role in the prevention of and/or serve as predictive factors for the development of atopic eczema.

Conditions

• Atopic Dermatitis (AD)
• Autoantibody
• Auto-Immunity
• Microbiome, Human
• Allergic Disease
• IgE-Mediated Hypersensitivity
• Newborn Infant

Interventions

OTHER

Development of atopic dermatitis with/without IgE autoantibodies

No studies have been performed on the presence of IgE autoantibodies at birth and whether this is related to AD development, prediction of the development of atopic diseases (biomarker) or clinical relevance in the pathophysiology. Causative environmental and hereditary factors still need to be unraveled. We assume that newborns with IgE autoantibodies are prone to develop atopic dermatitis and its comorbidities (food allergy, allergic asthma/ rhinitis) . In case IgE autoantibodies are identified in cord blood, this may originate from the mother and passes to the child due to maternal spillover , or it is produced by the fetus (prenatally) who produces IgE autoantibodies him/herself or by the infant in early life. This project aims to insights to the understanding of the first stages of IgE autoantibody development, its relation to AD and other allergic diseases as well as heredity and environmental factors. The endpoints study hold the potential to improve prevention and/or prognosis.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jette, Belgium

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jan Gutermuth, MD PhD · Universitair Ziekenhuis (UZ) Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

• Inge Kortekaas Krohn, PhD · Universitair Ziekenhuis (UZ) Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

1 Hour

Max Age

24 Months

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-10-01

Primary Completion

2029-12-31

Completion

2030-12-31

Countries

• Belgium

Study Locations