Smooth muscle IL-4 receptor activation induces airway hyper-responsiveness
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Selective stimulation of IL-4 receptor on smooth muscle induces airway hyper-responsiveness in mice. Abstract: Production of the cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 is increased in both human asthma and mouse asthma models and Stat6 activation by the common IL-4/IL-13R drives most mouse model pathophysiology, including airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). However, the precise cellular mechanisms through which IL-4Rα induces AHR remain unclear. Overzealous bronchial smooth muscle constriction is thought to underlie AHR in human asthma, but the smooth muscle contribution to AHR has never been directly assessed. Furthermore, differences in mouse vs. human airway anatomy and observations that selective IL-13 stimulation of Stat6 in airway epithelium induces murine AHR raise questions about the importance of direct IL-4R effects on smooth muscle in murine asthma models and relevance of these models to human asthma. Using transgenic mice in which smooth muscle is the only cell type that expresses or fails to express IL-4Rα, we demonstrate that direct smooth muscle activation by IL-4, IL-13, or allergen is sufficient, but not necessary, to induce AHR and show that 5 genes known to promote smooth muscle migration, proliferation and contractility are activated by IL-13 in smooth muscle in vivo. These observations demonstrate that IL-4Rα promotes AHR through multiple mechanisms and provide a model for testing smooth muscle-directed asthma therapeutics.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE26476 | GEO | 2011/01/07
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA136527
REPOSITORIES: GEO
ACCESS DATA