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Horsnell WGC, Cutler AJ, Hoving CJ, Mearns H, Myburgh E, Arendse B, Finkelman FD, Owens GK, Erle D, Brombacher F. Delayed goblet cell hyperplasia, acetylcholine receptor expression, and worm expulsion in SMC-specific IL-4Ralpha-deficient mice. PLoS Pathog 2007; 3:e1. [PMID: 17222057 PMCID: PMC1769405 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.0030001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2006] [Accepted: 11/22/2006] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Interleukin 4 receptor alpha (IL-4Ralpha) is essential for effective clearance of gastrointestinal nematode infections. Smooth muscle cells are considered to play a role in the type 2 immune response-driven expulsion of gastrointestinal nematodes. Previous studies have shown in vitro that signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 signaling in response to parasitic nematode infection significantly increases smooth muscle cell contractility. Inhibition of the IL-4Ralpha pathway inhibits this response. How this response manifests itself in vivo is unknown. In this study, smooth muscle cell IL-4Ralpha-deficient mice (SM-MHC(Cre)IL-4Ralpha(-/lox)) were generated and characterized to uncover any role for IL-4/IL-13 in this non-immune cell type in response to Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection. IL-4Ralpha was absent from alpha-actin-positive smooth muscle cells, while other cell types showed normal IL-4Ralpha expression, thus demonstrating efficient cell-type-specific deletion of the IL-4Ralpha gene. N. brasiliensis-infected SM-MHC(Cre)IL-4Ralpha(-/lox) mice showed delayed ability to resolve infection with significantly prolonged fecal egg recovery and delayed worm expulsion. The delayed expulsion was related to a delayed intestinal goblet cell hyperplasia, reduced T helper 2 cytokine production in the mesenteric lymph node, and reduced M3 muscarinic receptor expression during infection. Together, these results demonstrate that in vivo IL-4Ralpha-responsive smooth muscle cells are beneficial for N. brasiliensis expulsion by coordinating T helper 2 cytokine responses, goblet hyperplasia, and acetylcholine responsiveness, which drive smooth muscle cell contractions.
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Affiliation(s)
- William G. C Horsnell
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Antony J Cutler
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Claire J Hoving
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Helen Mearns
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Elmarie Myburgh
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Berenice Arendse
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Fred D Finkelman
- Department of Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Gary K Owens
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Dave Erle
- Lung Biology Center, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Frank Brombacher
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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