Significance of Immunoglobulin E in Umbilical Blood in Relation to an Allergic Family History, Seasonality, Child Immunity and the Impact of Applied Non-pathogenic E. coli on Children’s Microbiome

Abstract

Abstract:We examined IgE levels in 4,312 samples of umbilical blood taken from children born into families with a positive history of allergy in one or both parents from 1998-2015. At the age of ten days, those with high IgE were given Colinfant Newborn (a lyophilized non-pathogenic strain of E. coli) for one month, three times weekly. At 15 months and three years we investigated the levels of IgE, IgA and IgG, and the incidence of illness and allergy. The results revealed that allergy and high umbilical IgE is strongly linked with family history (p ≤ 0.001). We also detected differences in seasonality, especially with regards to pollen allergies. About 80% of children treated with Colinfant had significantly reduced IgE and morbidity at 13-15 months and 3 years, and furthermore without any clinical signs of allergy. Surprisingly 20% of treated children did not have reduced IgE, and yet they did not have any clinical signs of allergy. Normalization of IgA and IgG was seen in 90% of treated subjects (p ≤ 0.001). These levels significantly are correlated with an almost negligible morbidity up to 4 years of life. Our study strongly suggests a positive effect of physiological E. coli on the microbiome of children as evidenced by a significantly reduced incidence of allergy and morbidity when applied early in life.