The Journal of Experimental Medicine
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Published online 24 November 2003 doi:10.1084/jem.20021784
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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007/2003/12/1643 $8.00
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 198, Number 11, 1643-1652

Lymphotoxin Is Required for Maintaining Physiological Levels of Serum IgE That Minimizes Th1-mediated Airway Inflammation

Hyung-Sik Kang1, Sarah E. Blink1, Robert K. Chin1, Youjin Lee1, Oliver Kim1, Joel Weinstock3, Thomas Waldschmidt4, Daniel Conrad5, Bohao Chen2, Julian Solway2, Anne I. Sperling2, and Yang-Xin Fu1

1 Department of Pathology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
2 Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
3 Department of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
4 Department of Anatomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
5 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298

Address correspondence to Yang-Xin Fu, Dept. of Pathology, The University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland, Rm. J541, MC3083, Chicago, IL 60637. Phone: (773) 702-0929; Fax: (773) 834-8940; email: yfu{at}midway.uchicago.edu

Although elevated levels of IgE in asthmatic patients are strongly associated with lung infiltration by activated T helper (Th) 2 cells, the physiological role of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in the airway remains largely undefined. Lymphotoxin-deficient {alpha} (LT{alpha}-/-) mice exhibit increased airway inflammation, paradoxically accompanied by diminished levels of IgE and reduced airway hyperresponsiveness in response to both environmental and induced antigen challenge. The severe lung inflammation in LT{alpha}-/- mice is Th1 in nature and can be alleviated by IgE reconstitution. Conversely, depletion of IgE in wild-type mice recapitulates the lung pathologies of LT{alpha}-/- mice. Therefore, this work has revealed that lymphotoxin is essential for IgE production, and a physiological role of IgE in the airway may consist of maintaining the balance of Th1 and Th2 responses to prevent aberrant inflammation.

Key Words: bronchial hyperresponsiveness • cytokines • T helper cells • infiltration • allergen

Abbreviations used in this paper: BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; BHR, bronchial hyperresponsiveness; i.t., intratracheally; LT, lymphotoxin; SEA, Schistosoma mansoni egg antigen.


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