Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) regulate immune activation via their roles in signal transduction of multiple classes of receptors. Here, we examined the effect of genetic inactivation of the hemopoietic cell-restricted PI3K isoform p110d on systemic cytokine and chemokine responses and allergic airway inflammation. We found that type 2 cytokine responses (IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13) are significantly decreased in p110d mutants, whereas type 1 cytokine responses (IFN-c and CXCL10) were robust. Elevated IFN-c production during the primary response to ovalbumin (OVA) was associated with reduced production of the regulatory cytokine IL-10. IFN-c and IL-10 production normalized after secondary OVA immunization; however, type 2 cytokine production was persistently reduced. Type 2 cytokine-dependent airway inflammation elicited by intranasal challenge with OVA was dramatically reduced, with reduced levels of eosinophil recruitment and mucus production observed in the lungs. Induction of respiratory hyper-responsiveness to inhaled methacholine, a hallmark of asthma, was markedly attenuated in p110d-inactivated mice. Adoptive transfer of OVA-primed splenocytes from normal but not p110d-inactivated mice could induce airway eosinophilia in naive, airway-challenged recipient mice. These data demonstrate a novel functional role for p110d signaling in induction of type 2 responses in vivo and may offer a new therapeutic target for Th2-mediated airway disease. IntroductionPhosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) are key signaling enzymes regulating immune function [1,2]. PI3K are activated by stimulation through a variety of receptor types, including antigen receptors, costimulatory receptors and certain cytokine receptors. PI3K function by phosphorylating specific plasma membrane phospholipids to generate short-lived, membrane-integral lipid [3,4]. Effects of regulatory subunit deficiencies on T cells are less clear: deficiency of the p85a regulatory subunit for class 1A PI3K was reported to have no effect on T cell activation in vitro, while deficiency in the p85b regulatory subunit increased T cell proliferation in vitro [5]. One group found that p85-deficient mice have enhanced responses to Leishmania infection [6], but reduced immunity to nematode infection [7], suggesting that impaired class IA PI3K signaling leads to an immune dysregulation rather than a general immunodeficiency. However, the interpretation of these studies is complicated because regulatory subunits each affect the stability and activity of multiple catalytic subunits and may have adaptor functions in signaling independent of PI3K catalytic subunits.Recent work has begun to explore the specific roles of different PI3K catalytic subunit isoforms in immune function. Analysis of p110a and p110b deficiency has been hindered by the lethality of these mutations [8,9]. Mice deficient in the class IB subunit p110c are viable and have defects in T cell development and activation, as well as severe defects in neutrophil function, while B cell activation appears normal [1...

During infection, parasites evade the host immune system by modulating or exploiting the immune system; e.g., they suppress expression of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules or secrete cytokine-like molecules. However, it is not clear whether helminths disturb the immune responses of their hosts by controlling the antigen-processing pathways of the hosts. In this study, we identified a new cysteine protease inhibitor, nippocystatin, derived from excretory-secretory (ES) products of an intestinal nematode, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. Nippocystatin, which belongs to cystatin family 2, consists of 144 amino acids and is secreted as a 14-kDa mature form. In vivo treatment of ovalbumin (OVA)-immunized mice with recombinant nippocystatin (rNbCys) profoundly suppressed OVA-specific proliferation of splenocytes but not non-antigenspecific proliferation of splenocytes. OVA-specific cytokine production was also greatly suppressed in rNbCystreated mice. Although the serum levels of both OVA-specific immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgG2a were not affected by rNbCys treatment, OVA-specific IgE was preferentially downregulated in rNbCys-treated mice. In vitro rNbCys inhibited processing of OVA by lysosomal cysteine proteases from the spleens of mice. Mice with anti-nippocystatin antibodies became partially resistant to infection with N. brasiliensis. Based on these findings, N. brasiliensis appears to skillfully evade host immune systems by secreting nippocystatin, which modulates antigen processing in antigen-presenting cells of hosts.

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Dietary phytosterols significantly reduce atherosclerosis in apo E-deficient mice. Because atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, we investigated whether the antiatherogenic effects of phytosterols are associated with reductions in proinflammatory cytokine production as well as the effect of this diet on global immunocompetence. Apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient mice were fed a cholesterol-supplemented diet in the presence or absence of 2% dietary phytosterols for 14 wk and then immunized with ovalbumin. The relations between plasma lipid concentrations, atherosclerotic lesions, and cytokine production and proinflammatory stimuli or foreign antigens were characterized. Phytosterol-enriched diets were strongly associated with reduced plasma cholesterol concentrations and atherosclerosis in conjunction with higher anti-inflammatory [interleukin (IL)-10] and lower proinflammatory cytokine [IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha] production. In contrast, development of cytokine and chemokine responses to ovalbumin was as strong as or even improved in the phytosterol-treated mice relative to controls. The antiatherogenic effects of dietary phytosterols in apo E-knockout mice were associated with beneficial alterations in both lipoprotein metabolism and inflammatory pathways. Decreased capacity to mount proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine responses to inflammatory stimuli did not interfere with the global immunocompetence of such mice. Thus, the desirable suppression of proinflammatory cytokine production that was associated with inhibition of atherogenesis did not impair the capacity to mount responses to foreign antigens.