Project description:Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) have abnormal immune responses triggered by a variety of infectious agents, airborne toxins and fungi. Respiratory epithelial cells serve as relay stations capable of amplifying or augmenting cues received from external stimuli to nearby immune cells located in the sinus mucosa. Previous studies have identified increases in complement components and complement gene expression in the mucosa of patients with atopic CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). As part of a larger study, we used shotgun proteomics to quantify changes in mucus proteins between patients with and without nasal polyps.
Project description:Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) have abnormal immune responses triggered by a variety of infectious agents, airborne toxins and fungi. Respiratory epithelial cells serve as relay stations capable of amplifying or augmenting cues received from external stimuli to nearby immune cells located in the sinus mucosa. Previous studies have identified increases in complement components and complement gene expression in the mucosa of patients with atopic CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). As part of a larger study, we used shotgun proteomics to quantify changes in mucus proteins between patients with and without nasal polyps.
Project description:Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) play a central role for tolerance against self and innocuous environmental antigens. However, the role of antigen-specificity for Treg-mediated tolerance is only incompletely understood. Here we show by direct ex vivo characterization of human CD4+ T cells, that the response against innocuous airborne antigens, such as plant pollen or fungal spores, is dominated by memory-like antigen-specific Treg. Surprisingly, breakdown of tolerance in atopic donors was not accompanied by a quantitatively or qualitatively altered Treg response, but instead correlated with a striking dichotomy of Treg versus Th2 target specificity. Allergenic proteins, are selectively targeted by Th2 cells, but not Treg. Thus human Treg specific for airborne antigens maintain tolerance at mucosal sites and the failure to generate specific Treg against a subgroup of antigens provides a window of opportunity for allergy development. PBMCs from sex and age matched birch pollen allergic patients and healthy controls, were stimulated (7h) with airborne fungal (A. fumigatus) or birch pollen antigen (birch) and sorted into antigen specific conventional and regulatory T cells according to their expression of CD154+ and CD137+ on CD4+ T cells, respectively. Number of samples per group in parentheses: Healthy controls stimulated with A. fumigatus (n=5), allergic patients stimulated with A. fumigatus (n=6), healthy controls stimulated with birch (n=6), allergic patients stimulated with birch (n=4).
Project description:We report changes in H3K27ac following LPS stimulation in Detroit 562 cells. We were able to identified LPS-increased H3K27ac regions which correlated with RELA binding as well as gene up-regulation. This data set is relevant for airborne bacterial sensing as Detroit 562 cells are nasopharyngeal epithelial cells and LPS is a gram negative bacterial endotoxin.
Project description:The study aimed at evaluation and comparison of airway epithelium mRNA profile in response to airborne particulate matter presented by macrophages using in vitro triple cell co-culture model.