Maintenance of memory-type pathogenic Th2 cells in the pathophysiology of chronic airway inflammation

Immunological memory is critical for long-standing protection against microorganisms; however, certain antigen-specific memory CD4⁺ T helper (Th) cells drive immune-related pathology, including chronic allergic inflammation such as asthma. The IL-5-producing memory-type Tpath2 subset is important for the pathogenesis of chronic allergic inflammation. This memory-type pathogenic Th2 cell population (Tpath2) can be detected in various allergic inflammatory lesions. However, how these pathogenic populations are maintained at the local inflammatory site has remained unclear.

We performed a series of experiments using mice model for chronic airway inflammation. We also investigated the human samples from patients with eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis.

We recently reported that inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (iBALT) was shaped during chronic inflammation in the lung. We also found that memory-type Tpath2 cells are maintained within iBALT. The maintenance of the Tpath2 cells within iBALT is supported by specific cell subpopulations within the lung. Furthermore, ectopic lymphoid structures consisting of memory CD4⁺ T cells were found in nasal polyps of eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis patients, indicating that the persistence of inflammation is controlled by these structures.

Thus, the cell components that organize iBALT formation may be therapeutic targets for chronic allergic airway inflammation.