Erythropoietin regulates Treg cells in asthma through TGFβ receptor signaling

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways, the development of which is suppressed by regulatory T cells (Treg). Erythropoietin (EPO) is originally defined as a hematopoietic growth factor. Recently, the anti-inflammatory effects of EPO in asthma have been acknowledged. However, the underlying mechanisms remain ill-defined. Here, we showed that EPO treatment significantly reduced the severity of an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in mice, seemingly through promoting Foxp3-mediated activation of Treg cells in OVA-treated mouse lung. The activation of Treg cells resulted from increases in transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1), which were mainly produced by M2 macrophages (M2M). In vitro, Co-culture with M2M increased Foxp3 levels in Treg cells and the Treg cell number, in a TGFβ receptor signaling dependent manner. Moreover, elimination of macrophages abolished the therapeutic effects of EPO in vivo. Together, our data suggest that EPO may increase M2M, which activate Treg cells through TGFβ receptor signaling to mitigate the severity of asthma.