Synergistically increased ILC2 and Th9 cells in lung tissue jointly promote the pathological process of asthma in mice

Abstract

In recent years, T helper (Th) 9 cells have been demonstrated to be key mediators in immune responses in asthmatic lungs, and innate lymphoid cells 2 (ILC2s) have been described as a novel type of innate immunocyte with the ability to enhance immunoglobulin E (IgE) production. However, the interaction between ILC2s and Th9 cells in the pulmonary system of a mouse model of asthma remains to be elucidated. In the present study, the response state of lung tissue with regards to Th9 and ILC2s in a mouse model of asthma was investigated by detecting Th9‑ and ILC2‑associated cytokine receptors. The present study also investigated the association between the expression levels of the cytokine receptors in lung tissue samples and the IgE levels in sera samples from mouse models of asthma. Results from the present study demonstrated that the frequency of ILC2s and Th9 cells was significantly increased in the lung tissue samples, indicating that a Th2-type immune response had occurred. In addition, high mRNA expression levels of RAR‑related orphan receptor α, interleukin 1 receptor‑like 1, transcription factor PU.1 and interleukin (IL)‑9 were observed. Furthermore, IL‑5Rα, IL‑13Rα2 and high‑affinity IgE receptor were increased in mouse models of asthma, and a positive association was observed between the expression levels of ILC2‑ or Th9‑associated receptors in tissue samples and IgE levels in the sera. This indicated that ILC2s and Th9 were in a state of polarization and may promote each other in the lung tissue of mouse models of asthma, and that the lung tissue was responding to the two types of cells via increased expression of receptors.

Single-cell analysis of RORα tracer mouse lung reveals ILC progenitors and effector ILC2 subsets

“…Lung ILC2s are known to play an important role in the development of allergic inflammation, and ILC2 numbers are elevated in the peripheral blood and sputum of asthma patients (Smith et al, 2016; Ying et al, 2016). ILC2s are involved in other lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Silver et al, 2016), fibrosis (Hams et al, 2014), and tumors (Trabanelli et al, 2017; Chevalier et al, 2017).…”

Guards at the gate: physiological and pathological roles of tissue-resident innate lymphoid cells in the lung

“…Specifically, ILC2-derived IL-5 is critically involved in increased IgM production (Drake et al, 2016 ). Polarized ILC2s and Th9 cells also stimulate each other in mouse models of asthma in the lung (Ying et al, 2016 ).…”

Activity of Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells is Associated with Chronic Inflammation and Dysregulated Metabolic Homoeostasis in Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy

“…ILC2s are dependent on GATA3 and retinoic acid receptor‐related orphan receptor‐ α (ROR α ) for their development and function. Several researches have demonstrated that the ILC2s promote and induce the development of CD4 + Th2 cell‐dependent immunity . Thus, we proposed a hypothesis that there may be ILC2s in peripheral blood which related to Th2‐associated inflammation.…”