Hoppenot D, Malakauskas K, Lavinskiene S, Sakalauskas R. p-STAT6, PU.1, and NF-κB are involved in allergen-induced late-phase airway inflammation in asthma patients.
BMC Pulm Med 2015;
15:122. [PMID:
26466682 PMCID:
PMC4606997 DOI:
10.1186/s12890-015-0119-7]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2015] [Accepted: 10/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Previous in vitro and animal studies demonstrated that transcription factors p-STAT6 and PU.1 are required to induce interleukin (IL)-9 secretion by T helper (Th) 9 cells. It is believed that n factor-kappaB (NF-κB) plays a role in eosinophil survival. The importance of these transcription factors in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma (AA) in humans is poorly understood. We evaluated p-STAT6 and PU.1 expression in peripheral blood Th9 cells and NF-κB expression in eosinophils during late-phase airway inflammation in AA patients.
Methods
Nineteen adults with AA and 14 adult healthy individuals (HI) were examined. Peripheral blood collected 24 h before (baseline) and 24 h after bronchial allergen challenge. CD4+ cells and eosinophils were isolated by high-density gradient centrifugation and magnetic separation. The percentage of Th9 cells and apoptotic eosinophils was estimated by flow cytometry. p-STAT6 and PU.1 expression was expressed as mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) in Th9 cells. NF-κB levels were expressed as MFI in peripheral blood eosinophils. Serum IL-9 and IL-5 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results
At baseline, MFI of p-STAT6 and PU.1 in peripheral blood Th9 cells and MFI of NF-κB in eosinophils and, serum IL-5 and IL-9 levels were greater in AA patients (P < 0.05). Decreased eosinophil apoptosis was seen in the AA group compared with HI (P < 0.05). MFI of p-STAT6, PU.1, and NF-κB and serum levels of IL-5 and IL-9 were increased in the AA group 24 h after challenge compared with baseline (P < 0.05). In the AA group, a correlation between serum IL-9 and Th9 cells (r = 0.7, P = 0.001) and MFI of PU.1 (r = 0.6, P = 0.01) 24 h after bronchial allergen challenge was observed. A correlation between Th9 cells and MFI of p-STAT6 (r = 0.45, P = 0.03) as well as MFI of PU.1 (r = 0.5, P = 0.02) 24 h after challenge was only observed in AA patients. A correlation between the MFI of NF-κB and eosinophil apoptosis was observed in AA patients 24 h before (r = −0.46, P = 0.02) and after (r = −0.5, P = 0.02) challenge.
Discussions
p-STAT6 and PU.1 may be associated with Th9 cells and IL-9 production, whereas NF-κB and IL-5 may be associated with reduced eosinophil apoptosis in allergen-induced late-phase airway inflammation.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02214303
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-015-0119-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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