Published in Science Immunology on July 9th, 2021.
Contributors:
- Pulmonary Division, Department of Medicine: Dr. Samira Mansouri, Dr. Himanshu Gogoi, Dr. Amir Emtiazjoo, and Dr. Lei Jin
- Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery: Dr. Mauricio Pipkin and Dr. Tiago Machuca
- Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Department of Surgery: Dr. Ashish Sharma
The Story – IFNβ & Asthma
Allergen-induced asthma affects millions of people; thus, treatments to alleviate symptoms are needed. Now, Dr. Jin’s lab in Pulmonary Division demonstrated that treating asthmatic mice with intranasal IFNβ alleviated asthma symptoms and prevented asthma attacks. The study showed that IFNβ activates a new lung dendritic cell population called TNFR2+ cDC2s to reduce lung inflammation and restore lung tolerance in asthmatic mice. The study further showed that the human lung has a functionally similar TNFR2+ cDC2s population. Thus, inhaled IFNβ may represent a potential therapy to alleviate allergen-induced asthma in people.
Dr. Lei Jin
