Recently the Th1/Th2 concept has been revised and Th17 cells have been implicated in allergy. Despite clear correlative evidence, the cellular and molecular basis for the connection between increased IL-17A and IgE in allergy has not been elucidated. Here we show using flow cytometry that allergic patients have higher numbers of IL-17A+ cells compared to nonallergic donors. The selective removal of IL-17A+ cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of allergic donors after an IL-17A secretion assay reduces IgE levels, whereas re-addition of recombinant IL-17A restores it, as measured by ELISA, showing their important functional implication for IgE production. In addition, IL-17A directly promotes the differentiation of IgE-secreting cells and IgE production upon anti-CD40/IL-4 costimulation, as shown by enzyme-linked immunospot technique and ELISA. IL-17A triggers rapid degradation of IκBα and subsequent translocation of NF-κB into the B-cell nucleus, followed by transcription of epsilon germ-line, activation-induced cytidine deaminase, and IFN regulatory factor 4, as analyzed by flow cytometry, western blot, and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, respectively. Our study shows that IL-17A+ cells promote IgE production and that IL-17A exerts its pro-allergic effect directly at the level of B cells. Therefore, IL-17A might be a target for the treatment of IgE-dependent diseases, including atopic dermatitis.

B lymphocytes play a fundamental role in the development of IgE-dependent allergic immune reactions. Upon appropriate activation, IgE class switch recombination is initiated in B cells, followed by terminal differentiation to IgE-secreting plasmablasts. This process is controlled by different nuclear receptors, including receptors for vitamin D, retinoids, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ ligands. In this study, we show constitutive expression of the nuclear liver X receptor (LXR)α and LXRβ in peripheral human B cells. Activation of LXRs reduced secreted IgE (−68% ± 11) in CD40 and IL-4 activated B cells. The production of other isotypes, including IgG, IgM, IgA and B cell homeostatic parameters were not significantly altered by LXR activation. We identified inhibitory action of LXR activation on IgE production involving reduced phosphorylation of JNK and increased membrane CD23 expression (38% ± 11). The biological significance of our findings was validated by showing that systemic treatment of type I-sensitized BALB/c mice with LXR ligands reduced the serum concentrations of Ag-specific IgE in a dose-dependent manner (maximum, −52% ± 14). Thus, our data indicates that LXRs are involved in the control of IgE secretion by differentiating B cells.

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Our data indicate that allergen-activated memory B cells can modulate IgE production through secretion of IL-10.