Lung immune responses to respiratory pathogens and allergens are initiated in early life which wi... more Lung immune responses to respiratory pathogens and allergens are initiated in early life which will further influence the later onset of asthma. The airway epithelia form the first mechanical physical barrier to allergic stimuli and environmental pollutants, which is also the key regulator in the initiation and development of lung immune response. However, the epithelial regulation mechanisms of early‐life lung immune responses are far from clear. Our previous study found that integrin β4 (ITGB4) is decreased in the airway epithelium of asthma patients with specific variant site. ITGB4 deficiency in adult mice aggravated the lung Th2 immune responses and enhanced airway hyper‐responsiveness (AHR) with a house dust mite (HDM)‐induced asthma model. However, the contribution of ITGB4 to the postnatal lung immune response is still obscure. Here, we further demonstrated that ITGB4 deficiency following birth mediates spontaneous lung inflammation with ILC2 activation and increased infiltr...
Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play a key role in asthma susceptibility and severity. Integrin β4... more Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play a key role in asthma susceptibility and severity. Integrin β4 (ITGB4) is a structural adhesion molecule that is downregulated in the airway epithelium of asthma patients. Specific ITGB4 deficiency in AECs induces exaggerated Th2 responses, severe allergen-induced airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in mouse model of allergic asthma. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. In this study, we determine the role of ITGB4 of AECs in the regulation of Th2 response and in the induction of asthma and identify the underpinning molecular mechanisms. We found that ITGB4 deficiency led to exaggerated Th2 cells infiltration, inflammation and AHR and higher production of CCL17 in HDM treated mice. ITGB4-regulated CCL17 production in AECs was regulated by EGFR, ERK and NF-κB pathways. EFGR-antagonist treatment or the neutralization of CCL17 by antibody inhibited exaggerated pathological marks in HDM-challenged ITGB4-deficient m...
Airway epithelial cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Although the struc... more Airway epithelial cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Although the structural and functional defects of airway epithelial cells have been postulated to increase asthma susceptibility and exacerbate asthma severity, the mechanism and implication of these defects remain uncertain. Integrin β4 (ITGB4) is a structural adhesion molecule that is downregulated in the airway epithelium of asthma patients. In this study, we demonstrated that ITGB4 deficiency leads to severe allergy-induced airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) in mice. After house dust mite (HDM) challenge, epithelial cell-specific ITGB4-deleted mice showed increased lymphocyte, eosinophil, and neutrophil infiltration into lung compared with that of the wild-type mice. ITGB4 deficiency also resulted in increased expression of the Th2 cytokine IL-4, IL-13, and the Th17 cytokine IL-17A in the lung tissue and in the T cells after HDM challenge. The aggravated inflammation in ITGB4 de...
Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) are usually directed against the surface antigens on the... more Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) are usually directed against the surface antigens on the vascular endothelial cells. Clinical studies suggest a pathogenic role for nonhuman leukocyte antigen in antibody-mediated rejection; however, the antigens on the donor vascular endothelium that serve as the first-line targets for an immune response during allograft rejection have not been fully identified. Here, we used immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry to identify antigens from the sera of kidney transplant recipients who were experiencing antibody-mediated rejection. Keratin 1 (KRT1) was identified as a novel antigenic target expressed on endothelial cells. To validate our finding, we produced recombinant proteins representing the three most common alleles of KRT1. The serum used for immunoprecipitation showed a strong reaction to KRT1 recombinants in western blot and ELISA. In the kidney transplant cohort, more AECA-positive recipients than AECA-negative recipients had KRT1 ...
Lung immune responses to respiratory pathogens and allergens are initiated in early life which wi... more Lung immune responses to respiratory pathogens and allergens are initiated in early life which will further influence the later onset of asthma. The airway epithelia form the first mechanical physical barrier to allergic stimuli and environmental pollutants, which is also the key regulator in the initiation and development of lung immune response. However, the epithelial regulation mechanisms of early‐life lung immune responses are far from clear. Our previous study found that integrin β4 (ITGB4) is decreased in the airway epithelium of asthma patients with specific variant site. ITGB4 deficiency in adult mice aggravated the lung Th2 immune responses and enhanced airway hyper‐responsiveness (AHR) with a house dust mite (HDM)‐induced asthma model. However, the contribution of ITGB4 to the postnatal lung immune response is still obscure. Here, we further demonstrated that ITGB4 deficiency following birth mediates spontaneous lung inflammation with ILC2 activation and increased infiltr...
Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play a key role in asthma susceptibility and severity. Integrin β4... more Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play a key role in asthma susceptibility and severity. Integrin β4 (ITGB4) is a structural adhesion molecule that is downregulated in the airway epithelium of asthma patients. Specific ITGB4 deficiency in AECs induces exaggerated Th2 responses, severe allergen-induced airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in mouse model of allergic asthma. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. In this study, we determine the role of ITGB4 of AECs in the regulation of Th2 response and in the induction of asthma and identify the underpinning molecular mechanisms. We found that ITGB4 deficiency led to exaggerated Th2 cells infiltration, inflammation and AHR and higher production of CCL17 in HDM treated mice. ITGB4-regulated CCL17 production in AECs was regulated by EGFR, ERK and NF-κB pathways. EFGR-antagonist treatment or the neutralization of CCL17 by antibody inhibited exaggerated pathological marks in HDM-challenged ITGB4-deficient m...
Airway epithelial cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Although the struc... more Airway epithelial cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Although the structural and functional defects of airway epithelial cells have been postulated to increase asthma susceptibility and exacerbate asthma severity, the mechanism and implication of these defects remain uncertain. Integrin β4 (ITGB4) is a structural adhesion molecule that is downregulated in the airway epithelium of asthma patients. In this study, we demonstrated that ITGB4 deficiency leads to severe allergy-induced airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) in mice. After house dust mite (HDM) challenge, epithelial cell-specific ITGB4-deleted mice showed increased lymphocyte, eosinophil, and neutrophil infiltration into lung compared with that of the wild-type mice. ITGB4 deficiency also resulted in increased expression of the Th2 cytokine IL-4, IL-13, and the Th17 cytokine IL-17A in the lung tissue and in the T cells after HDM challenge. The aggravated inflammation in ITGB4 de...
Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) are usually directed against the surface antigens on the... more Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) are usually directed against the surface antigens on the vascular endothelial cells. Clinical studies suggest a pathogenic role for nonhuman leukocyte antigen in antibody-mediated rejection; however, the antigens on the donor vascular endothelium that serve as the first-line targets for an immune response during allograft rejection have not been fully identified. Here, we used immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry to identify antigens from the sera of kidney transplant recipients who were experiencing antibody-mediated rejection. Keratin 1 (KRT1) was identified as a novel antigenic target expressed on endothelial cells. To validate our finding, we produced recombinant proteins representing the three most common alleles of KRT1. The serum used for immunoprecipitation showed a strong reaction to KRT1 recombinants in western blot and ELISA. In the kidney transplant cohort, more AECA-positive recipients than AECA-negative recipients had KRT1 ...
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