Roles of group 2 innate lymphoid cells in development of steroid-resistant severe asthma and their therapeutic...

Severe asthma is characterized by persistent type 2 inflammation and airway remodeling that remain refractory to intensive glucocorticoid therapy. Accumulating evidence indicates that group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) play a central role in disease persistence and therapeutic refractoriness. ILC2s are rapidly activated by epithelial-derived cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-33, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), and IL-7, and produce large amounts of IL-5 and IL-13, thereby promoting eosinophilic inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. In severe asthma, chronic exposure to these cytokines induces pathogenic changes in ILC2s, including sustained proliferative capacity, profibrotic activity, and acquisition of resistance to glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, cooperative activation of the JAK-STAT5-Bcl-xL and PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 pathways enhances anti-apoptotic signaling and impairs glucocorticoid receptor function, allowing ILC2s to persist despite steroid treatment. This review focuses on the pathogenic roles of ILC2s in severe asthma, with particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms underlying glucocorticoid resistance, and discusses emerging therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways to overcome steroid-resistant severe asthma.