Publications

Platelets amplify type 2 inflammation (T2I) through incompletely understood mechanisms. Depletion of platelets markedly attenuated mast cell (MC) activation in a model of aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) that depends on IL-33 and cysteinyl leukotrienes (cysLTs). We demonstrate an IL-33-driven feed-forward loop between platelets and MCs. IL-33 neutralization prevented increases in cysLTs and CXCL7, a […]

Determining spatial location of cells within tissues gives vital insight into the interactions between resident and inflammatory cells and is a critical factor for uncoupling the mechanisms driving disease. Here, we apply single-cell spatial transcriptomics to reveal the airway wall landscape in health and during asthma. We identified proinflammatory cellular ecosystems that exist within discrete […]

Studies using mouse models of airway disease have advanced our understanding of the mechanisms driving eosinophilic airway inflammation and demonstrated potential therapeutic targets in asthma.

Over the past 2 decades, mechanistic studies of allergic and type 2 (T2)-mediated airway inflammation have led to multiple approved therapies for the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma. The approval and availability of these monoclonal antibodies targeting IgE, a T2 cytokine (IL-5) and/or cytokine receptors (IL-5Rα, IL-4Rα) has been central to the progresses made in the […]

Mast cells (MCs) expressing a distinctive protease phenotype (MCTs) selectively expand within the epithelium of human mucosal tissues during type 2 (T2) inflammation. While MCTs are phenotypically distinct from subepithelial MCs (MCTCs), signals driving human MCT differentiation and this subset's contribution to inflammation remain unexplored. Here, we have identified TGF-β as a key driver of […]

The cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs), LTC(4), LTD(4), and LTE(4), are potent lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid through the 5-lipoxygenase pathway. These mediators produce both inflammation and bronchoconstriction through three distinct G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)-CysLT(1), CysLT(2), and OXGR1 (also known as CysLT(3) or GPR99). While CysLT-mediated functions in the effector phase of allergic inflammation and asthma […]

Asthma is a complex disease caused by genetic and environmental factors. Studies show that wheezing during rhinovirus infection correlates with childhood asthma development. Over 150 non-coding risk variants for asthma have been identified, many affecting gene regulation in T cells, but the effects of most risk variants remain unknown. We hypothesized that airway epithelial cells […]

Severe asthma and sinus disease are consequences of type 2 inflammation (T2I), mediated by interleukin (IL)-33 signaling through its membrane-bound receptor, ST2. Soluble (s)ST2 reduces available IL-33 and limits T2I, but little is known about its regulation. We demonstrate that prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) drives production of sST2 to limit features of lung T2I. PGE(2)-deficient mice […]

CONCLUSION: In addition to type 2 inflammation, innate and IL-6-related cytokines are also elevated in the respiratory tract in AERD. Both OSM and IL-6 are locally produced in nasal polyps and likely promote pathology by negatively affecting epithelial barrier function. IL-4Rα blockade, although seemingly directed at type 2 inflammation, also decreases mediators of innate inflammation […]

Repetitive exposure to antigen in chronic infection and cancer drives T cell exhaustion, limiting adaptive immunity. In contrast, aberrant, sustained T cell responses can persist over decades in human allergic disease. To understand these divergent outcomes, we employed bioinformatic, immunophenotyping and functional approaches with human diseased tissues, identifying an abundant population of type 2 helper […]