Cytokine Signaling and Primary Immunodeficiency

National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases

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Abstract

Cytokines represent a large number of secreted proteins that regulate cell growth and differentiation. These factors are especially important in regulating immune and inflammatory responses, and in regulating lymphoid development and differentiation. Not surprisingly, cytokines are critical in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis. Conversely, mutations that affect cytokines and cytokine signal pathways underlie a variety of primary immunodeficiencies. We discovered human Jak3, a kinase essential for signaling by cytokines that bind the common gamma chain, gc (IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15 and IL-21). We found that mutation of Jak3 results in a primary immunodeficiency disorder termed severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). We have a clinical protocol that allows us to evaluate patients with suspected Jak3 deficiency. No new patients were enrolled this year. After activation of receptor-associated Jaks, the next step in signal transduction is the activation of latent, cytosolic transcription factors that can also bind activated cytokine receptors. These factors are called STATs (signal transducers and activators of transcription). The function of STAT proteins in immune cells has been a focus of this lab for two decades. Recent work by NIH scientists has revealed that mutations of STAT3 underlie the autosomal dominant form of hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome (HIES). STAT3 has critical roles in immune cells and thus, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), might be a reasonable therapeutic strategy in this disease. However, STAT3 also has critical functions in nonhematopoietic cells and dissecting the protean roles of STAT3 is limited by the lethality associated with germline deletion of Stat3. Consequently, the potential efficacy of HSCT for HIES is difficult to predict. To begin to dissect the importance of STAT3 in hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells as it relates to HIES, we generated a mouse model of this disease. We found that these transgenic mice recapitulate multiple aspects of HIES, including elevated serum IgE and failure to generate Th17 cells. We found that these mice were susceptible to bacterial infection that was partially corrected by HSCT using wild-type bone marrow, emphasizing the role played by the epithelium in the pathophysiology of HIES.