A Major Population of Functional KLRG1^- ILC2s in Female Lungs Contributes to a Sex Bias in ILC2 Numbers.

ABSTRACT: Humans show significant sex differences in the incidence and severity of respiratory diseases, including asthma and virus infection. Sex hormones contribute to the female sex bias in type 2 inflammation associated with respiratory diseases, consistent with recent reports that female lungs harbor greater numbers of GATA-3-dependent group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s). In this study, we determined whether sex hormone levels govern sex differences in the numbers, phenotype, and function of ILC2s in the murine lung and bone marrow (BM). Our data show that lungs of female mice harbor significantly greater ILC2 numbers in homeostasis, in part due to a major subset of ILC2s lacking killer-cell lectin like receptor G1 (KLRG1), a population largely absent in male lungs. The KLRG1^- ILC2

SUBMITTER: Kadel S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5860819 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature