IL-33/Regulatory T-Cell Axis Suppresses Skin Fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Fibrosis is a pathological hallmark of systemic sclerosis, a deadly autoimmune disease affecting the connective tissues of multiple organs. However, the immune mechanisms underlying fibrosis and systemic sclerosis remain unclear. To determine the initiating immune pathway in fibrosis, we investigated the role of type 2 alarmin cytokines in the mouse model of skin fibrosis. Wild-type mice that received subcutaneous bleomycin injections developed skin fibrosis accompanied by elevated IL-33 expression in the dermis. Likewise, we found IL-33 upregulation in human skin fibrosis. Mice with germline deletion of IL-33 receptor (ST2 knockout) showed markedly exacerbated skin fibrosis in association with significantly increased T helper 2 cell to regulatory T-cell ratio in the skin. Mice that lacked

SUBMITTER: Cheon SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9511765 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature