Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is an emerging disorder with a poorly understood pathogenesis. In order to define disease mechanisms, we took an empirical approach analyzing esophageal tissue by a genome-wide microarray expression analysis. EE patients had a striking transcript signature involving 1% of the human genome that was remarkably conserved across sex, age, and allergic status and was distinct from that associated with non-EE chronic esophagitis. Notably, the gene encoding the eosinophil-specific chemoattractant eotaxin-3 (also known as CCL26) was the most highly induced gene in EE patients compared with its expression level in healthy individuals. Esophageal eotaxin-3 mRNA and protein levels strongly correlated with tissue eosinophilia and mastocytosis. Furthermore, a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the human eotaxin-3 gene was associated with disease susceptibility. Finally, mice deficient in the eotaxin receptor (also known as CCR3) were protected from experimental EE. These results implicate eotaxin-3 as a critical effector molecule for EE and provide insight into disease pathogenesis.

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Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a polygenic disorder characterized by the accumulation of eosinophils in the esophagus. We carried out a genome-wide association study on clinically and biopsy confirmed EoE patients to identify common variants associated with the disease risk. One hundred and eighty one EoE samples from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (CCHMC) and 170 EoE samples and ~3100 controls from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) were genotyped on the Illumina 550K BeadChip. All patients and controls were of European ancestry. Following standard quality control filtering of the genotype data we carried out Cochran-Armitage trend tests at each SNP using the CCHMC samples as a discovery cohort. We detected genome-wide association with variants on chr5q22 that mapped to a single LD block encompassing the TSLP and WDR36 genes. The most significantly associated SNP at that locus which maps upstream of the TSLP gene remained wide significant after Bonferroni correction (rs3806932, uncorrected P-value = 7.18×10−8, OR = 0.54). Eleven other SNPs in LD with rs3806932 were also significantly associated with EoE and mapped to the same LD block on 5q22. We subsequently replicated the association in the independent CHOP cohort (170 cases, 1130 controls) with rs3806932 P-value = 8×10−3 OR = 0.73; combined P-value for rs3806932 across CCHMC and CHOP cohorts = 3.19×10−9). In addition, TSLP was overexpressed in the esophagus of EoE patients compared with control individuals with no differences observed in the expression of WDR36. In conclusion, we have identified the first genetic association with EoE predisposition at 5q22 implicating TSLP and/or WDR36 as genes potentially involved in the pathogenesis of EoE.

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The desmosomal cadherin desmoglein-1 (DSG1) is an essential intercellular adhesion molecule that is altered in various human cutaneous disorders; however, its regulation and function in allergic disease remains unexplored. Herein, we demonstrate a specific reduction in DSG1 in esophageal biopsies from patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an emerging allergic disorder characterized by chronic inflammation within the esophageal mucosa. Further, we show that DSG1 gene silencing weakens esophageal epithelial integrity, and induces cell separation and impaired barrier function (IBF) despite high levels of desmoglein-3 (DSG3). Moreover, DSG1 deficiency induces transcriptional changes that partially overlap with the transcriptome of inflamed esophageal mucosa; notably, periostin, a multipotent pro-inflammatory extracellular matrix molecule, is the top induced overlapping gene. We further demonstrate that IBF is a pathological feature in EoE, which can be partially induced through the downregulation of DSG1 Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:http://www.nature.com/authors/editorial_policies/license.html#terms Author Manuscript by interleukin-13 (IL-13). Taken together, these data identify a functional role for DSG1 and its dysregulation by IL-13 in the pathophysiology of EoE and suggest that the loss of DSG1 may potentiate allergic inflammation through the induction of pro-inflammatory mediators such as periostin. HHS Public Access

Previous mouse and clinical studies demonstrate a link between Th2 intestinal inflammation and induction of the effector phase of food allergy. However, the mechanism by which sensitization and mast cell responses occurs is largely unknown. We demonstrate that interleukin (IL)-9 has an important role in this process. IL-9–deficient mice fail to develop experimental oral antigen–induced intestinal anaphylaxis, and intestinal IL-9 overexpression induces an intestinal anaphylaxis phenotype (intestinal mastocytosis, intestinal permeability, and intravascular leakage). In addition, intestinal IL-9 overexpression predisposes to oral antigen sensitization, which requires mast cells and increased intestinal permeability. These observations demonstrate a central role for IL-9 and mast cells in experimental intestinal permeability in oral antigen sensitization and suggest that IL-9–mediated mast cell responses have an important role in food allergy.

We have previously proposed that the pathogenesis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is mediated by an IL-13–driven epithelial cell response associated with marked gene dysregulation including eotaxin-3 overproduction. Herein, we compared epithelial responses between normal (NL) and EE patients aiming to uncover molecular explanations for EE pathogenesis. Esophageal epithelial cells could be maintained up to 5 passages, with 67% and 62% of cell lines reaching confluence in NL and EE, respectively. Both sets of epithelial cells avidly responded to IL-13 at similar levels as assessed by eotaxin-3 production. Acidic pH increased cellular release of eotaxin-3 (4.6 ± 1.98 ng/mL vs. 12.46 ± 2.90 ng/mL at pH 7.4 and 4 respectively, p<0.05). Numerous epidermal differentiation complex (EDC) genes, such as filaggrin, and SPRR3 were downregulated both in IL-13-stimulated esophageal epithelial cells and in EE biopsies compared to NL. While the filaggrin loss of function mutation 2282del4 was overrepresented in EE compared to control individuals (6.1% vs. 1.3% respectively, p=0.0172), the decreased filaggrin expression was uniformly seen in all EE patients in vivo. Indeed, expression of the EDC genes filaggrin and involucrin was strongly decreased directly by IL-13. These results establish that the epithelial response in EE involves a cooperative interaction between IL-13 and expression of EDC genes.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disorder associated with allergic hypersensitivity to food. We interrogated >1.5 million genetic variants in European EoE cases and subsequently in a multi-site cohort with local and out-of-study control subjects. In addition to replication of the 5q22 locus (meta-analysis p = 1.9×10−16), we identified association at 2p23 (encoding CAPN14, p = 2.5×10−10). CAPN14 was specifically expressed in the esophagus, dynamically upregulated as a function of disease activity and genetic haplotype and after exposure of epithelial cells to IL-13, and located in an epigenetic hotspot modified by IL-13. There was enriched esophageal expression for the genes neighboring the top 208 EoE sequence variants. Multiple allergic sensitization loci were associated with EoE susceptibility (4.8×10−2 < p < 5.1×10−11). We propose a model that elucidates the tissue specific nature of EoE that involves the interplay of allergic sensitization with an EoE-specific, IL-13–inducible esophageal response involving CAPN14.