Irma Schabussova

Medical University of Vienna | MedUni Vienna · ISPTM

This report summarizes the ASEV-CzeSEV Joint Meeting on Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), held at the Medical University of Vienna in September 2024. The conference focused on introducing and expanding EV research and infrastructure within the Czech Republic and Austria, highlighting areas for collaboration. Key sessions featured research on EV-based d...

Escherichia coli A0 34/86 (EcO83) is a probiotic strain used in newborns to prevent nosocomial infections and diarrhoea. This bacterium stimulates both pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokine production and its intranasal administration reduces allergic airway inflammation in mice. Despite its benefits, there are concerns about the use of live probioti...

Bacteria and their metabolic products profoundly affect the immune system. Research has shown that early postnatal supplementation with specific probiotic strains, such as Escherichia coli O83:K24:H31 (EcO83), can provide health benefits. EcO83 is a facultative anaerobe capable of generating energy through multiple metabolic pathways, an adaptation...

Compared to the general population, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are less likely to be vaccinated, putting them at an increased risk of vaccine-preventable illnesses. This risk is further compounded by the immunosuppressive therapies commonly used in IBD management. Therefore, developing new treatments for IBD that maintain immune...

Compared to the general population, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are less likely to be vaccinated, putting them at an increased risk of vaccine-preventable illnesses. This risk is further compounded by the immunosuppressive therapies commonly used in IBD management. Therefore, developing new treatments for IBD that maintain immune...

Background E. coli O83 (Colinfant Newborn) is a Gram-negative (G-) probiotic bacterium used in the clinic. When administered orally, it reduces allergic sensitisation but not allergic asthma. Intranasal administration offers a non-invasive and convenient delivery method. This route bypasses the gastrointestinal tract and provides direct access to t...

Background E. coli O83 (Colinfant Newborn) is a Gram-negative (G-) probiotic bacterium used in the clinic. When administered orally, it reduces allergic sensitisation but not allergic asthma. Intranasal administration offers a non-invasive and convenient delivery method. This route bypasses the gastrointestinal tract and provides direct access to t...

E. coli O83 (Colinfant Newborn) is a Gram-negative probiotic bacterium used in the clinic. When administered orally, it reduces allergic sensitisation but not allergic asthma. Intranasal administration may be more effective as it reaches the lungs directly. Gram-negative bacteria release outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to communicate with the enviro...

Over the last decade, research interest in defining how extracellular vesicles (EVs) shape cross‐species communication has grown rapidly. Parasitic helminths, worm species found in the phyla Nematoda and Platyhelminthes, are well‐recognised manipulators of host immune function and physiology. Emerging evidence supports a role for helminth‐derived E...

Background The hygiene hypothesis suggests a link between parasitic infections and immune disorders, such as allergic diseases. We previously showed that infection with Toxoplasma gondii or systemic application of T. gondii tachyzoites lysate antigen (TLA) in a prophylactic, but not therapeutic protocol, prevented allergic airway inflammation in mi...

A steady rise in the number of poly-sensitized patients has increased the demand for effective prophylactic strategies against multi-sensitivities. Probiotic bacteria have been successfully used in clinics and experimental models to prevent allergic mono-sensitization. In the present study, we have investigated whether probiotic bacteria could prev...

Vaccines can have heterologous effects on the immune system, i.e., effects other than triggering an immune response against the disease targeted by the vaccine. We investigated whether monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for tetanus could cross-react with Chlamydia and confer heterologous protection against chlamydial infection. The capability of...

The unabated global increase of allergic patients leads to an unmet need for rapid and inexpensive tools for the diagnosis of allergies and for monitoring the outcome of allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT). In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the potential of Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, a high-resolution and cost-e...

Background: Mucosal mast cells (MC) are key players in IgE-mediated food allergy (FA). The evidence on the interaction between gut microbiota, MC and susceptibility to FA is contradictory. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that commensal bacteria are essential for MC migration to the gut and their maturation impacting the susceptibility to FA. Me...

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that is highly prevalent within human populations. Its genome encodes a range of enzymes involved in glycan biosynthesis and metabolism. A new study presents a library of CRISPR/Cas9-based glyco-relevant gene knockouts and their examination in glycomic and functional assays. This new resource can pave...

Following the publication of this article, the authors have requested that the Acknowledgements section be amended to include the financing source of the study. The correct Acknowledgments should be as follows: We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Austrian Science Fund SFB F46 and DK MCCA W1248-B30, OeAD-GmbH grants (FR13/2016) and from the A...

Allergic poly-sensitization affects a large number of allergic patients and poses a great challenge for their treatment. In this study we evaluated the effects of the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) expressing a birch and grass pollen allergen chimera ‘Bet v 1, Phl p 1 and Phl p 5’ (EcN-Chim) on allergy prevention after oral or intrana...

Background: Mucosal mast cells (MC) are key players in IgE-mediated food allergy (FA). The evidence on the interaction between gut microbiota, MC and susceptibility to FA is contradictory. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that commensal bacteria are essential for MC migration to the gut and their maturation impacting the susceptibility to FA. Me...

E. coli O83 inhibited allergic airway inflammation in mice in a prophylactic and therapeutic model, opening up possibilities for clinical application of this probiotic strain.

Epidemiological and experimental studies have shown an inverse relationship between infections with certain parasites and a reduced incidence of allergic diseases. We and others have shown that infection with Toxoplasma gondii prevents the development of allergy in mice. To establish whether this beneficial effect could be recapitulated by soluble...

Immunity is established by a fine balance to discriminate between self and non-self. In addition, mucosal surfaces have the unique ability to establish and maintain a state of tolerance also against non-self constituents such as those represented by the large numbers of commensals populating mucosal surfaces and food-derived or air-borne antigens....

Poly-sensitization is becoming an increasing health issue in Western countries, since poly-sensitized individuals are difficult to treat by conventional therapeutic measures. Probiotic bacteria can be used for interventions against allergies. We selected non-pathogenic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 for our study based on its intrinsic immunomodulato...

Germ-free animals have been used to define the vital role of commensal bacteria on the maturation of the host immune system. However, the role of bacterial residues in diet in this setting is poorly understood. Here we investigated the effect of bacterial contamination in sterile diet on the level of allergic sensitization in germ-free mice. Steril...

Composition of the feed mixture ST1. (DOCX)

Flow cytometry analyses of maturation of bone marrow-derived DC. Mouse bone marrow-derived DC (BM-DC) were prepared and stimulated as described in the manuscript. BM-DC were labelled with monoclonal antibodies for CD11c (FITC), MHC II (APC), CD40, CD80 or CD86 (PE) (eBioscience, USA). Appropriate isotype antibodies were used as controls to determin...

Introduction Previously, we have shown that oral infection with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts prevented type I allergy in mice. Here we investigated whether the application of a T. gondii oocyst lysate antigen (OLA) could also reduce allergy development. BALB/c mice were immunised twice with OLA followed by sensitisation with the major birch pollen (BP...

Scoring criteria for the histopathological assessment of lung tissue sections. (DOCX)

Increasing numbers of clinical trials and animal experiments have shown that probiotic bacteria are promising tools for allergy prevention. Here, we analyzed the immunomodulatory properties of three selected lactobacillus strains and the impact of their mixture on allergic sensitization to Bet v 1 using a gnotobiotic mouse model. We showed that Lac...

Background: Reduced microbial diversity has been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and probiotic bacteria have been proposed for its prevention and/or treatment. Nevertheless, comparative studies of strains of the same subspecies for specific health benefits are scarce. Here we compared two Bifidobacterium longum ssp. longum strains...

Infection with the ubiquitous parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a threat for immunocompromised patients and pregnant women and effective immune-prophylaxis is still lacking. Here we tested a mixture of recombinant T. gondii antigens expressed in different developmental stages, i.e., SAG1, MAG1 and GRA7 (SMG), and a lysate derived from T. gondii tachyzo...

Background: Our previous studies on intranasal tolerance induction demonstrated reduction of allergic responses with different allergen constructs. The underlying mechanisms varied depending on their conformation or size. Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the uptake of two structurally different allergen molecules within the...

Purpose of review In order to survive in their host, parasitic worms (helminths) have evolved cunning strategies to manipulate the host immune system, some of which may lead to protection from immune dysregulatory diseases such as allergy. Thus, loss of exposure to helminths due to a highly hygienic life style might have contributed to the fact th...

One third of the human population is currently infected by one or more species of parasitic helminths. Certain helminths establish long-term chronic infections resulting in a modulation of the host's immune system with attenuated responsiveness to "bystander" antigens such as allergens or vaccines. In this study we investigated whether parasite-der...

Background: The hygiene hypothesis implies that microbial agents including probiotic bacteria may modulate foetal/neonatal immune programming and hence offer effective strategies for primary allergy prevention; however their mechanisms of action are poorly understood. We investigated whether oral administration of Lactobacillus paracasei NCC 2461...

Among birch pollen allergic patients up to 70% develop allergic reactions to Bet v 1-homologue food allergens such as Api g 1 (celery) or Dau c 1 (carrot), termed as birch pollen-related food allergy. In most cases, specific immunotherapy with birch pollen extracts does not reduce allergic symptoms to the homologue food allergens. We therefore gene...

We compared the immunomodulatory properties of Bifidobacterium longum NCC 3001 and Lactobacillus paracasei NCC 2461 in a mouse model of poly-sensitization to birch and grass pollen allergens. Mucosal application of both strains at the time of sensitization and challenge led to significant suppression of airway inflammation and down-regulated allerg...

The use of recombinant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as vehicles for mucosal delivery of recombinant allergens is an attractive concept for antigen-defined allergy prevention/treatment. Interventions with LAB are of increasing interest early in life when immune programming is initiated. Here, we investigated the effect of neonatal colonization with a...

Allergic diseases have become the new epidemic in westernized countries. Several factors including reduction of microbial contact early in life may have contributed to this dramatic development. As conventional immunotherapy has obvious limitations, there is a need for the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic treatment approaches. In thi...

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous intracellular parasite affecting most mammals including humans. In epidemiological studies, infection with T. gondii and allergy development have been postulated to be inversely related. Using a mouse model of birch pollen allergy we investigated whether infection with T. gondii influences allergic immune responses...

Endotoxins are common contaminants in allergen preparations and affect antigen-specific cellular responses. Distinct effects of endotoxin on cells in human umbilical cord and adult blood are poorly defined. To examine the effect of endotoxins in allergen preparations on cellular responses in human cord and peripheral blood (PB). The endotoxin conte...

Endotoxin contamination of used materials.

Dose response in cord blood.

Endotoxin in BLG preparations induces up-regulation of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, INF-γ, IL-10 and IL-5.

An ideal vaccine for allergen-specific immunotherapy of type I allergies should display reduced mediator-releasing capacity, induce maturation of APC, and modify the disease-eliciting Th2-dominated allergen-specific response to a more physiological response. We have previously shown that rSbsC-Bet v 1, the recombinant fusion protein of a bacterial...

The parasitic helminth Toxocara canis is a widely distributed nematode of mammals. Larval parasites, which infect a wide range of hosts including mice and humans, export glycosylated macromolecules bearing novel methylated oligosaccharide structures, similar to the mammalian blood group antigen H but bearing one or two O-methylated substitutions on...

This book contains 19 chapters focusing on Toxocara and the disease it causes known as toxocariasis. The chapters are divided into the following parts: molecular biology (3 chapters); Toxocara as a model system (2); animal models for toxocariasis (1); human disease (4); immunology of toxocariasis (2); epidemiology of toxocariasis (3); Toxocara in t...

Although thiotrophic symbioses have been intensively studied for the last three decades, nothing is known about the molecular mechanisms of symbiont acquisition. We used the symbiosis between the marine nematode Laxus oneistus and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to study this process. In this association a monolayer of symbionts covers the whole cuticle...

The development of the monogenean Diplozoon (Nordmann, 1832) (Diplozoidae) necessitates fusion of two larval stages (diporpae) into one double organism. How diporpae find, distinguish and contact each other is unclear, nor is the nature of the stimuli responsible for the dedifferentiation of cells and the formation of new tissues at the site of som...

The surfaces of three developmental stages (diporpae, just-fused juveniles and adults) of Paradiplozoon megan have been examined by histological methods using alcian blue/ periodic acid-Schiff staining and by binding of lectins conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) interfaced with confocal scanning laser microscopy, in an attempt to asc...

It has been suggested that a reduced or changed pattern of exposure to certain microorganisms has led to an unbalanced regulation of our im-mune system with consequently increased development of inflamma-tory diseases, such as allergic or autoimmune disorders. Studies on the basis of this so called "hygiene hypothesis" have concentrated on identify...