| First Author | Vannella KM | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 538-44 |
| PubMed ID | 27043413 | Mgi Jnum | J:259004 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6140922 | Doi | 10.1038/ni.3417 |
| Citation | Vannella KM, et al. (2016) Acidic chitinase primes the protective immune response to gastrointestinal nematodes. Nat Immunol 17(5):538-44 |
| abstractText | Acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) is known to be induced by allergens and helminths, yet its role in immunity is unclear. Using AMCase-deficient mice, we show that AMCase deficiency reduced the number of group 2 innate lymphoid cells during allergen challenge but was not required for establishment of type 2 inflammation in the lung in response to allergens or helminths. In contrast, AMCase-deficient mice showed a profound defect in type 2 immunity following infection with the chitin-containing gastrointestinal nematodes Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri. The impaired immunity was associated with reduced mucus production and decreased intestinal expression of the signature type 2 response genes Il13, Chil3, Retnlb, and Clca1. CD103(+) dendritic cells, which regulate T cell homing, were also reduced in mesenteric lymph nodes of infected AMCase-deficient mice. Thus, AMCase functions as a critical initiator of protective type 2 responses to intestinal nematodes but is largely dispensable for allergic responses in the lung. |
