Immunity: Dopamine may be the culprit of childhood asthma

November 22, 2019 / Biovalley BIOON / -- according to a recent article published in the Journal of immunology, neurons that produce neurotransmitter dopamine can communicate with T cells to enhance the allergic inflammatory response of the lungs of young mice, but the lungs of old mice do not These findings may explain why the prevalence of asthma in children is higher than in adults By studying the interaction between the nervous system and the immune system and the important role of childhood asthma, it is helpful to develop new strategies for the treatment of childhood asthma "This is the first study to reveal age-related neural-t cell signaling and its impact on the susceptibility of young children to asthma," said Xing bin AI, a senior researcher at Brigham women's Hospital and Harvard University at Massachusetts General Hospital Since asthma usually starts in early childhood, we believe that identifying disease mechanisms in childhood will provide new therapeutic targets for early intervention of asthma " Asthma is a potential life-threatening chronic disease, which causes intermittent inflammation and narrowing of the lung airway, causing wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing Although medication and management of environmental triggers can help control symptoms, there is no cure for the disease In the United States, asthma affects more than 26 million people, including 6 million children (photo source: Www.pixabay.com) the authors believe that the communication between the nervous system and the immune system to regulate inflammation may explain the high incidence rate of childhood asthma As the nervous system continues to develop after birth, neurons may regulate tissue inflammation in different ways In this new study, AI and colleagues investigated the role of developing nervous systems in the early onset of asthma The sympathetic nerves that control the lungs of mice produce dopamine primarily in the early postpartum period, but another neurotransmitter called noradrenaline in adulthood, the researchers found When they compared lung and lymph node tissue between children under 13 and adults between 40 and 65 years old, they found a similar pattern In addition, the researchers found that dopamine produced by the nerves that dominate the lungs binds to dopamine neurotransmitter receptors on CD4 + T-helper cells, which promote their differentiation into Th2 cells that promote asthma, thereby enhancing lung inflammation In contrast, noradrenaline production by neurons in the adult lung does not These findings reveal the communication mechanism between dopamine producing neurons and T cells in the early developing lung, and the conservation of this mechanism between mice and humans In the mouse model, the authors found that dopamine secretion can significantly increase the inflammation of Th2 cells in the lung tissue of newborn mice, thereby reducing the production of mucus and the high responsiveness of respiratory tract In contrast, the effect of adult mice is much weaker In conclusion, these findings suggest that dopamine DRD4 signaling between sympathetic nerves and CD4 + T-helper cells in the lung plays an important role in increasing allergic inflammation in early life By promoting inflammation, dopamine producing nerves can give early lung infection tissue repair mechanisms, which may be beneficial when the lungs are immature and susceptible to pathogens "Our findings provide evidence that communication between nerve and immune cells is involved in susceptibility to asthma," Ai said However, blocking the communication between neurons and immune cells in general is not a good solution, because nerves play an important role in regulating respiratory function We will need to explore targeted therapies along the nerve immune cell axis " Information source: evidence in mice that childhood ASTM A is influential by the neurosmitor dopamine original source: Wei Wang, Jonathan A Cohen, Antonia wallrap, Kenneth g Trieu, Juliana barrios, Fengzhi Shao, nandini Krishnamoorthy, Vijay K kuchroo, Matthew R Jones, Alan fine, Yan Bai, Xingbin Ai Age-Related Dopaminergic Innervation Augments T Helper 2-Type Allergic Inflammation in the Postnatal Lung Immunity , 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2019.10.002