Microbiology-Immunology Seminar Series
Title: "Lung Immunity Originating in the Gut: Migratory Responses of Innate Lymphoid Cells"
Yuefeng (Tony) Huang, PhD / NIAID
Description:
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) play important roles in host defense, tissue repair, metabolic homeostasis and inflammatory diseases, and they are generally considered to be tissue-resident cells. We show that, in response to cytokine IL-25 or helminthic infection, intestinal ILC2s proliferate and migrate to distant sites including the lung, where they contribute to tissue repair and helminth defense. Those circulating cells, termed “inflammatory ILC2s”, also display the plasticity and can be mobilized by cytokines to become ILC3-like cells, contributing to anti-fungal immunity. This expansion and migration of ILC2s is a behavioral parallel to the antigen-driven proliferation and migration of adaptive lymphocytes to effector sites and indicates that ILCs complement adaptive immunity by providing both local and distant tissue protection during infection.
Dr. Melissa Brown
(312) 503-0108
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