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T-cell responses

DCs get KITted out

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 8, page 406 (2008)Cite this article

IL-6 is a crucial regulator of T-cell differentiation, promoting TH2- and TH17-cell responses and inhibiting TH1-cell responses — a T-cell bias that is characteristic of allergic diseases. Krishnamoorthy et al. show that, consistent with their association with allergic immune responses, both HDM and cholera toxin promote the release of large amounts of IL-6 and low levels of the TH1-cell-inducing cytokine IL-12 by bone-marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs). Moreover, intranasal immunization of mice with HDM primed the T cells from the lung-draining lymph nodes towards a TH2-type response; this effect was decreased in IL-6-deficient mice, which indicates a key role for allergen-induced IL-6 in regulating the ensuing T-cell response.

To define the mechanism underlying IL-6 upregulation by HDM and cholera toxin, the authors carried out microarray analysis to identify genes induced in DCs by cholera toxin. Together with that encoding IL-6, the gene encoding KIT was significantly upregulated in BMDCs after cholera toxin treatment. A comparison of KIT+ and KIT− BMDCs sorted from cholera-toxin-treated cultures revealed that those expressing KIT promoted TH2- and TH17-cell responses, whereas KIT− BMDCs favoured TH1-cell differentiation.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Krishnamoorthy, N. et al. Activation of c-Kit in dendritic cells regulates T helper cell differentiation and allergic asthma. Nature Med. 14, 565–573 (2008)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Sheppard, D. Dust mites' dirty dealings with dendritic cells. Nature Med. 14, 487–488 (2008)

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors
  1. Lucy Bird
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Bird, L. DCs get KITted out. Nat Rev Immunol 8, 406 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2346

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2346

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