Summary
Oral immunotherapy has had limited success in establishing tolerance in food allergy, reflecting failure to elicit an effective regulatory T (Treg) cell response. We show that disease-susceptible mice (Il4raF709) with enhanced IL-4 receptor (IL-4R) signaling exhibited STAT6-dependent impaired generation and function of mucosal allergen-specific Treg cells. This failure was associated with the acquisition by Treg cells of T helper 2 (Th2) cell-like phenotype, also found in peripheral blood allergen-specific Treg cells of food allergic children. Selective augmentation of IL-4R signaling in Treg cells induced their reprogramming into Th2-like cells and disease susceptibility, whereas Treg cell lineage-specific deletion of Il4 and Il13 was protective. IL-4R signaling impaired the capacity of Treg cells to suppress mast cell activation and expansion, which in turn drove Treg cell Th2 cell reprogramming. Interruption of Treg cell Th2 cell reprogramming may thus provide novel therapeutic strategies in food allergy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.