Reveal the new role of lung cells in lung immunity

Lung immunity is essential to combat all lung diseases, including COVID-19, pneumonia, lung cancer, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) discovered that the immune control of the lungs is accomplished by cells arranged in the air space, that is, epithelial cells, using a special immune-oriented molecule MHC-II

Joseph Mizzerd, professor of medicine, microbiology, and biochemistry at Boston State University and corresponding author, explained: “Lung epithelial cells are generally regarded as supporting respiratory function, and MHC-II is understood as connecting immune cells with immune cells, so the discovery MHC-II on lung epithelial cells tells TRM cells where to go and what to do in the lungs is novel and unexpected

By analyzing lung epithelial cells from humans and experimental models, the researchers learned that all the different types of epithelial cells tested express MHC-II and increase its expression during infection

"Our research shows that lung epithelial cells are similar to gatekeepers and are responsible for appropriately indicating the location of CD4-TRM cells’ sentinels and their ability to resist future infections

In addition to showing that lung epithelial cells use the immune system in the lungs of MHC-II tissue, the study also revealed unexpected findings from two main findings

The researchers envision that interventions (preventive and remedial) can be designed to use the ability of lung epithelial cells to modulate lung immunity

These findings were published in the online edition of the journal Nature Communications

Antigen presentation by lung epithelial cells directs CD4+ TRM cell function and regulates barrier immunity