SUMMARY It remains unclear whether basophils and mast cells are derived from a common progenitor. Furthermore, how basophil versus mast cell fate is specified has not been investigated. Here, we have identified a population of granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs), which were highly enriched in the capacity to differentiate into basophils and mast cells while retaining a limited capacity to differentiate into myeloid cells. We have designated these progenitor cells “pre-basophil and mast cell progenitors” (pre-BMPs). STAT5 signaling was required for the differentiation of pre-BMPs into both basophils and mast cells and was critical for inducing two downstream molecules: C/EBPα and MITF. We have identified C/EBPα as the critical basophil transcription factor for specifying basophil cell fate and MITF as the crucial transcription factor for specifying mast cell fate. C/EBPα and MITF silenced each other’s transcription in a directly antagonistic fashion. Our study reveals how basophil and mast cell fate is specified.
Background Th2 cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma. Established Th2 cells have been shown to resist reprogramming into Th1 cells. The inherent stability of Th2 cells poses a significant barrier to treating allergic diseases. Objective We sought to understand the mechanisms by which CD4+ T cells from asthmatic patients resist the IL-27-mediated inhibition. Methods We isolated and cultured CD4+ T cells from both healthy individuals and allergic asthmatic patients in order to test whether IL-27 can inhibit IL-4 production by the cultured CD4+ T cells using ELISA. Culturing conditions that resulted in resistance to IL-27 were determined using both murine and human CD4+ T cell culture systems. STAT1 phosphorylation was analyzed by Western blot and flow cytometry. Suppressor of cytokine signaling (Socs) mRNA expression was measured by quantitative PCR. The small interfering RNA method was used to knockdown the expression of Socs3 mRNA. Main Results We demonstrated that CD4+ T cells from asthmatic patients resisted the suppression of IL-4 production mediated by IL-27. We observed that repeated exposure to Th2-inducing conditions rendered healthy human CD4+ T cells resistant to IL-27-mediated inhibition. Using an in vitro murine culture system, we further demonstrated that repeated or higher doses of IL-4 stimulation, but not IL-2 stimulation, upregulated Socs3 mRNA expression and impaired IL-27-induced STAT1 phosphorylation. The Knockdown of Socs3 mRNA expression restored IL-27-induced STAT1 phosphorylation and IL-27-mediated inhibition of IL-4-production. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that differentiated Th2 cells can resist IL-27-induced reprogramming toward Th1 cells by downregulating STAT1 phosphorylation and likely explain why the CD4+ T cells of asthmatic patients are resistant to IL-27-mediated inhibition.
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