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Plasmacytoid dendritic cells drive acute asthma exacerbations
Aikaterini-Dimitra Chairakaki1, Maria-Ioanna Saridaki1, Katerina Pyrillou1
1Department of Immunology, Center for Clinical, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|October 22, 2017
Summary
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) drive asthma exacerbations by promoting inflammation. Targeting pDCs and IL-25 may offer new treatments for acute asthma attacks.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pulmonology
- Allergy
Background:
- Asthma exacerbations, often virus-induced, lead to hospitalizations, yet their mechanisms are poorly understood.
- Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), crucial for antiviral immunity, have unknown roles in asthma exacerbations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of pDCs in allergic airway inflammation and acute asthma exacerbations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized animal models of allergic airway disease (AAD) and virus-induced AAD exacerbations.
- Analyzed sputum from asthmatic patients with stable disease or acute exacerbations to assess pDC presence and inflammation correlation.
Main Results:
- pDCs mediate the inflammatory cascade in asthma exacerbations, migrating to the lungs and lymph nodes to enhance TH2 responses.
- pDC depletion reduced inflammation during allergen challenge or rhinovirus infection.
- IL-25, induced by allergens or viruses, primes pDCs for pro-inflammatory function.
- Increased pDC numbers in asthmatic patients correlated with exacerbation severity and attack risk.
Conclusions:
- pDCs play a significant, previously unrecognized role in asthma exacerbations.
- Findings suggest pDCs and IL-25 as potential therapeutic targets for acute asthma treatment.
- pDC levels may have diagnostic and prognostic value in asthma.
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