Upregulation of IL-4 receptor signaling pathway in circulating ILC2s from asthma patients
Rie Baba, Hiroki Kabata, Yoshitaka Shirasaki, Takashi Kamatani, Mai Yamagishi, Misato Irie, Risa Watanabe, Masako Matsusaka, Katsunori Masaki, Jun Miyata, Kazuyo Moro, Sotaro Uemura, Koichi Fukunaga
Abstract
Background: Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) produce type 2 cytokines by stimulation with epithelial cell-derived cytokines and are implicated in the pathogenesis of various allergic diseases, including asthma. However, differences in the molecular characteristics of ILC2s between patients with asthma and healthy subjects remain unclear. Objective: We sought to evaluate differences in cytokine production capacity and gene expression profile of ILC2s in the peripheral blood of patients with asthma and healthy subjects. Methods: We evaluated ILC2s derived from 15 patients with asthma and 7 healthy subjects using flow cytometry, live-cell imaging of secretion activity analysis, and RNA-sequencing. Results: = .042). Conclusions: Our results suggest that circulating ILC2s in patients with asthma are preactivated via the IL-4 receptor signaling pathway and produce IL-5 and IL-13 vigorously by stimulation.