Dec 04, 2017

We know that cats keep mice away. But did you know that they can also help prevent asthma in newborns? That is the conclusion of a new study by scientists from the Copenhagen Studies on Asthma in Childhood Research Center (COPSAC),Denmark. Cats neutralise the effect of a gene that, when activated, doubles the risk of developing asthma in children. Having a cat in the home when a child is born means that this gene is never activated.

众所周知猫捉老鼠，然而，猫还可以保护新生儿远离哮喘？这是丹麦哥本哈根儿童哮喘研究中心（COPSAC）的一项新研究的结论。 人体内有一种基因，被激活，就会增加儿童患哮喘的风险。而猫，可以中和这种基因的效应。小孩出生时，家里养有猫，意味着这种基因从未被激活。

The result surprised co-author Hans Bisgaard, professor of paediatrics and the head of COPSAC. Not because the results will lead to any new treatments-they will not-but because the study shows that the genes behind a disease can be switched on or off depending on the environment around us.

这个结果让合作者儿科教授Hans Bisgaard惊讶不已，Hans Bisgaard教授也是COPSAC的负责人。 倒不是说研究结果会创造任何新的治疗手段——他们不会那么做——而是因为研究揭示了疾病背后的基因竟然可以根据我们所处的环境而打开或关闭。

"For me, this is the core message because it's a recognition in the direction of how disease occurs. It documents the interplay between genetics and the environment we live in, and in particular that this occurs very early in life, both during pregnancy and in the home," says Bisgaard.

“对我而言，这是核心信息，因为它是对疾病发生方向的一种认识，它记录了遗传与我们生活环境之间的相互作用，特别是这种情况发生在生命的早期，无论是在怀孕期间还是在家庭之中，“Bisgaard说。

Cats help children who carry a particular gene

猫帮助了那些携带有特殊基因的孩童。

In the new study, Bisgaard, Jakob Stokholm, and three colleagues from COPSAC and Næstved Hospital,Denmark, studied data from 377 Danish children whose mothers have asthma.

在新的研究中，来自丹麦COPSAC和Næstved医院的Bisgaard，Jakob Stokholm和三名同事研究了377名母亲患有哮喘的丹麦儿童的数据。

They mapped the children's genes and collected information about their upbringing and surroundings, both by taking samples from the children's home and by a number of surveys taken by the parents.

他们绘制了孩子的基因图谱，并收集了他们的成长的教养环境和生活背景信息，包括从孩子的家中抽取样本以及对家长进行的一些调查。

The results reveal that cats remove the increased risk of developing asthma among children with a particular variation of the gene 17q21, called TT, which has the strongest impact on whether or not a child could develop asthma.

研究结果显示，猫可以消除携带特殊变异基因17q21（称为TT）的儿童患哮喘的风险，而TT，对儿童是否发生哮喘有最大的影响。

Almost one in three children in the study carried the TT gene variant, regardless of whether or not their mother had asthma.

研究中几乎有三分之一的儿童携带TT变异基因，无论其母亲是否患有哮喘。

No protection from dogs

狗则没有保护作用。

Interestingly, only cats seem to reduce the risk of developing asthma among children carrying the TT gene variant. Dogs do not have the same effect, say the scientists behind the new study.

有趣的是，似乎只有猫能降低携带TT变异基因的儿童患哮喘的风险。 主持这项新研究的科学家说，没有狗什么事。

Their analyses suggest that cats not only protect against asthma, but also against pneumonia and inflammation in the lower airways of small children (bronchitis).

他们的研究表明，猫不仅可以预防哮喘，还可以预防小儿下呼吸道（支气管炎）的肺炎和炎症。

Gene 17q21 was previously known to be involved in some way in all three conditions, which indicates Bisgaard and colleagues have found something quite substantial in the relationship between cats and genes, says Doctor Arne Høst, who lecturers in childhood disease at the University of Southern Denmark. He also studies asthma at H.C. Andersen's Children's Hospital in Odense,Denmark, but was not involved in the study.

目前已知基因17q21在所有三种情况中都以某种方式参与其中，这表明Bisgaard及其同事发现了猫和基因之间关系中相当可靠的一些证据， ArneHøst医生说，他是南丹麦大学儿童疾病讲师，同时在H.C.丹麦欧登塞的安徒生儿童医院研究哮喘，但他并没有参与这项研究。

"It's a very thorough study and they have investigated many things, so it's a plausible connection. It's very exciting that they find this connection because other studies have struggled to conclude anything final," says Høst.

Høst说：“这是一项非常深入的研究，研究了很多层面，所以这是一种比较确定的联系。他们确定这种联系非常鼓舞人心，因为其他研究仍然在为最终结论而争议。”

"Now it looks like the effect is linked to a particular gene-variant, which goes to show just how complex the development of asthma and allergies are. It's not only about genes and the environment, but how the two interact, and there's so much that we still don't know," he says.

“现在看起来效应与特定的基因变异有关，这表明哮喘和变态反应的发展是多么复杂，不仅关系到基因和环境，而且关系到两者如何相互作用，有太多的东西我们仍然未知，”他说。

How much exposure do you need?

需要多大的暴露呢？

Høst would like to see other studies confirm the results. As would Tove Fall, lecturer in epidemiology atUppsala University,   Sweden. She has previously studied the connection between animals and human disease in large register studies.

Høst期待其他研究来证实这一结果。 瑞典乌普萨拉大学流行病学讲师Tove Fall也是如此，她之前在一些大型注册研究中研究了动物与人类疾病之间的关系。

"The study is well-thought-out and the findings are very interesting. If they are confirmed by subsequent studies, then it would be interesting to figure out what kind of exposure to cats during childhood is needed to lower the risk of childhood asthma among bearers of the risk-variant," writes Fall in an email to ScienceNordic's partner, Videnskab.dk.

“这项研究经过深思熟虑，研究结果非常有趣，如果后续研究能够证实认同，那么就需要弄清楚儿童期需要接受哪种“猫暴露”以降低儿童哮喘高风险变异体，最终降低儿童哮喘发生”在写给ScienceNordic的合作伙伴Videnskab.dk的电子邮件中写道。

Growing up with cats also has disadvantages

与猫一起长大也有弊端

The new study does not show what it is about the cats, which help protect children against asthma.

这项新研究并没有表明究竟是猫的哪个方面保护了孩童抵抗哮喘。

An earlier study from COPSAC showed that cats activate a particular gene in the body, which triggers eczema in children. Trials to deactivate the asthma gene, revealed that doing so can activate the eczema gene.

来自COPSAC的一项早期研究表明，猫会激活体内特定的基因，从而引发儿童湿疹。失活哮喘基因的试验，发现这样做却激活了湿疹基因。

Another unresolved issue in the study is how cats actually influence our genes. And why there are no similar effects with dogs who also walk around on four legs and live in our homes?

该研究中另一个未解之谜是猫如何影响我们的基因。 狗也是四条腿走路，与我们同住，为什么狗没有类似作用？

For now, this is pure guess work.

到目前为止，仍然是纯粹猜想。

Lead-author Jakob Stokholm suspects that it could be related to the bacteria that cats carry and perhaps fungi or viruses that they bring into the home, which can influence our immune system.

领衔作者Jakob Stokholm怀疑可能与猫携带的细菌以及它们带入家中的真菌或病毒有关，那些细菌真菌或病毒可能会影响我们的免疫系统。

"This [research] is of course interesting to develop, because if we can explain these mechanisms, it opens up opportunities to isolate them and to protect against the disease," says Stokholm, a post doc at COPSAC.

“这个‘研究’当然值得深入，因为如果我们能够解释这些机制，就能将它们解析利用，来防止疾病的发生，”COPSAC的博士后Stokholm说。

Jakob Stokholm, Bo L. Chawes, Nadja Vissing, Klaus Bønnelykke, Hans Bisgaard, Cat exposure in early life decreases asthma risk from the 17q21 high-risk variant, In Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2017

Jakob Stokholm，Bo L. Chawes，Nadja Vissing，KlausBønnelykke，Hans Bisgaard，猫早期暴露可降低17q21高风险变体的哮喘风险，“过敏和临床免疫学杂志”，2017年

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