T helper 2 differentiation is necessary for development of lymphedema Journal Article


Authors: Ly, C. L.; Garcia Nores, G. D.; Kataru, R. P.; Mehrara, B. J.
Article Title: T helper 2 differentiation is necessary for development of lymphedema
Abstract: T cells infiltrating lymphedematous tissues have a mixed T helper 1 (Th1) and Th2 differentiation profile. Treatment with neutralizing antibodies targeting cytokines that promote Th2 differentiation (interleukin 4 [IL-4] and IL-13) decreases the severity of lymphedema in preclinical models, suggesting that Th2 cells play a key role in the pathology of this disease. However, these previous studies do not address the contribution of Th1 cells and it remains unknown if IL-4 and IL-3 blockade acts primarily on T cells or decreases the pathological changes of lymphedema by other mechanisms. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the effect of lymphatic injury in transgenic mice with mutations that cause defects in Th1 and Th2 cell generation (T-bet knockout or T-betKO and STAT6 knockout or STAT6KO mice, respectively). Using both the mouse tail and popliteal lymph node dissection models of lymphedema, we show that Th2-deficient (STAT6KO) mice are protected from developing lymphedema, have decreased fibrosis, increased collateral vessel formation, and preserved collecting lymphatic vessel pumping function. In contrast, mice with defective Th1 cell generation (T-betKO) develop disease with the same severity as wild-type controls. Taken together, our results suggest that Th2 differentiation is necessary for development of lymphedema following lymphatic injury and that Th1 differentiation does not significantly contribute to the pathology of the disease. Such findings are important as immunotherapy directed at Th2 cells has been found to be effective in well-studied Th2-mediated diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis and may therefore be similarly useful for lymphedema management. © 2018 Elsevier Inc.
Keywords: controlled study; gene mutation; nonhuman; lymph node dissection; treatment indication; mouse; animal tissue; interleukin 13; interleukin 4; animal experiment; animal model; cell differentiation; wild type; alpha smooth muscle actin; collagen type 1; lymph vessel; lymphangiogenesis; lymphedema; tail; fibrosis; podoplanin; th2 cell; disease severity; immunotherapy; fc receptor; asthma; cd4 antigen; th1 cell; inflammatory infiltrate; collagenase; phenotypic variation; nitric oxide synthase; differentiation; managed care; nitric oxide; endothelial nitric oxide synthase; t box transcription factor; antibody conjugate; chemokine receptor cxcr3; chemokine receptor ccr5; atopic dermatitis; deoxyribonuclease i; popliteal lymph node; stat6 protein; female; priority journal; article; receptor type tyrosine protein phosphatase c
Journal Title: Translational Research
Volume: 206
ISSN: 1931-5244
Publisher: Elsevier Science, Inc.  
Date Published: 2019-04-01
Start Page: 57
End Page: 70
Language: English
DOI: 10.1016/j.trsl.2018.12.003
PUBMED: 30633890
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC6443462
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 May 2019 -- Source: Scopus
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  1. Babak Mehrara
    449 Mehrara
  2. Raghu Prasad Kataru
    61 Kataru
  3. Catherine L Ly
    15 Ly