New immune cell raises prospect of asthma treatment

Asthma affects over two million Australians, including one in seven primary school-aged children, one in eight teenagers and one in nine adults. And at present, the details of it’s cause is unknown. As is a cure.

All we know is that it appears to be an immune reaction that occurs in response to certain unknown triggers, resulting in the airway narrowing, caused by inflammation and swelling of the airway lining, the tightening of the airway muscles and the production of excess mucus.

However, we may be closer to revealing the mechanisms that cause immune responses such as asthma, along with chronic allergies, thanks to the discovery of a new type of immune cell.

Researchers in the Netherlands and the U.S. have revealed an immune cell that exists in gut and lung tissues, detailing their discovery in the latest issue of Nature Immunology.

The immune cell had already been identified in mice, and was found to be a helper cell that secretes substances eliciting mucous production and recruiting, eosinophils, which are white blood cells known to combat parasites.

The cells were also believed to be involved in the development of lymph nodes during embryonic development, but weren’t considered to play an active role in immune function.

However, the researchers found that the cells appear to play a role in inflammatory diseases, and are found in greater numbers in the nasal tissue of individuals with a nasal infection, known as chronic rhinosinusitis.

They speculate that these new immune cells, called CRTH2+ ILCs (innate lymphoid cells), may contribute to chronic allergies and asthma.

“Future work should investigate the possible role of CRTH2+ cells in other type 2 immunity–mediated inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, allergic diarrhea and atopic skin disorders, which might provide new avenues for therapeutic intervention directed at these cells,” they write.

The paper was published in Nature Immunology today.