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Published on: January 16, 2013
Role of conventional dendritic cells in schistosomiasis-induced pulmonary hypertension
Claudia Mickael1, Rahul Kumar2,3, Dara C Fonseca Balladares2,3
1Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine / Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado, U.S.A.
Background:
Schistosomiasis is a major cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH) worldwide, and CD4 T cells are critical in disease pathogenesis. The role of dendritic cells (DCs) in Schistosoma-induced PH (SchPH) is unknown. There are two types of conventional DCs, cDC1 and cDC2, that prototypically activate CD8 and CD4 T cells, respectively.
Methods:
We exposed wildtype, DC reporter, and DC knockout mice to Schistosoma mansoni and quantified PH severity by heart catheterization and cell density by flow cytometry.
Results:
Experimental S. mansoni exposure increased the density of pulmonary DCs, particularly cDC2s. Deleting both cDC subsets did not significantly modify SchPH disease severity. Deleting only cDC1s caused more severe SchPH, associated with more Th2 CD4 and CD8 T cells. In contrast, deleting only cDC2s reduced SchPH disease severity.
Conclusions:
cDC1s appear to be protective, whereas cDC2s promote disease in SchPH.
