Person:

Dwyer, Daniel

Mast cells are evolutionarily ancient sentinel cells. Like basophils, mast cells express the high-affinity IgE receptor and are implicated in host defense and diverse immune-mediated diseases. To better characterize the function of these cells, we assessed the transcriptional profiles of mast cells isolated from peripheral connective tissues and basophils isolated from spleen and blood. We found that mast cells were transcriptionally distinct, clustering independently from all other profiled cells, and that mast cells demonstrated considerably greater heterogeneity across tissues than previously appreciated. We observed minimal homology between mast cells and basophils, which share more overlap with other circulating granulocytes than with mast cells. Derivation of mast cell and basophil transcriptional signatures underscores their differential capacity to detect environmental signals and influence the inflammatory milieu.

Type 2 cytokine responses are necessary for the development of protective immunity to helminth parasites but also cause the inflammation associated with allergies and asthma. Recent studies have found that peripheral hematopoietic progenitor cells contribute to type 2 cytokine–mediated inflammation through their enhanced ability to develop into mast cells. In this study, we show that carbonic anhydrase (Car) enzymes are up-regulated in type 2–associated progenitor cells and demonstrate that Car enzyme inhibition is sufficient to prevent mouse mast cell responses and inflammation after Trichinella spiralis infection or the induction of food allergy–like disease. Further, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technology and illustrate that genetically editing Car1 is sufficient to selectively reduce mast cell development. Finally, we demonstrate that Car enzymes can be targeted to prevent human mast cell development. Collectively, these experiments identify a previously unrecognized role for Car enzymes in regulating mast cell lineage commitment and suggest that Car enzyme inhibitors may possess therapeutic potential that can be used to treat mast cell–mediated inflammation.

Allergens are complex mixes of proteins and other compounds that have innate signaling capacity leading to Th2 inflammation. Understanding the role of each of these signals is essential to determining what separates allergens from innocuous proteins. Here, we examine two models for Th2 inflammation: infection with the helminth Trichinella spiralis and footpad immunization with papain, a cysteine protease structurally similar to proteases found in many common allergens including grass pollen and dust mites and helminth-secreted proteases secreted. Together, these studies highlight previously unappreciated effector roles of accessory cells during Th2 inflammation.