| First Author | Thawer S | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | PLoS Pathog | Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | e1005461 |
| PubMed ID | 26900854 | Mgi Jnum | J:246300 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5916767 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005461 |
| Citation | Thawer S, et al. (2016) Surfactant Protein-D Is Essential for Immunity to Helminth Infection. PLoS Pathog 12(2):e1005461 |
| abstractText | Pulmonary epithelial cell responses can enhance type 2 immunity and contribute to control of nematode infections. An important epithelial product is the collectin Surfactant Protein D (SP-D). We found that SP-D concentrations increased in the lung following Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection; this increase was dependent on key components of the type 2 immune response. We carried out loss and gain of function studies of SP-D to establish if SP-D was required for optimal immunity to the parasite. N. brasiliensis infection of SP-D-/- mice resulted in profound impairment of host innate immunity and ability to resolve infection. Raising pulmonary SP-D levels prior to infection enhanced parasite expulsion and type 2 immune responses, including increased numbers of IL-13 producing type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), elevated expression of markers of alternative activation by alveolar macrophages (alvM) and increased production of the type 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13. Adoptive transfer of alvM from SP-D-treated parasite infected mice into naive recipients enhanced immunity to N. brasiliensis. Protection was associated with selective binding by the SP-D carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) to L4 parasites to enhance their killing by alvM. These findings are the first demonstration that the collectin SP-D is an essential component of host innate immunity to helminths. |
