DIKUL - logo
E-resources
Peer reviewed Open access
  • Pulmonary neuroendocrine ce...
    Sui, Pengfei; Wiesner, Darin L; Xu, Jinhao; Zhang, Yan; Lee, Jinwoo; Van Dyken, Steven; Lashua, Amber; Yu, Chuyue; Klein, Bruce S; Locksley, Richard M; Deutsch, Gail; Sun, Xin

    Science, 06/2018, Volume: 360, Issue: 6393
    Journal Article

    Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells (PNECs) are rare airway epithelial cells whose function is poorly understood. Here we show that -mutant mice that have no PNECs exhibit severely blunted mucosal type 2 response in models of allergic asthma. PNECs reside in close proximity to group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) near airway branch points. PNECs act through calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) to stimulate ILC2s and elicit downstream immune responses. In addition, PNECs act through the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) to induce goblet cell hyperplasia. The instillation of a mixture of CGRP and GABA in -mutant airways restores both immune and goblet cell responses. In accordance, lungs from human asthmatics show increased PNECs. These findings demonstrate that the PNEC-ILC2 neuroimmunological modules function at airway branch points to amplify allergic asthma responses.