Crystalline silica-induced recruitment and immuno-imbalance of CD4+ tissue resident memory T cells promote silicosis progression

作者：Yichuan You, Xiulin Wu, Haoyang Yuan, Yangyang He, Yinghui Chen, Sisi Wang, Hui Min, Jie Chen, Chao Li · 发表于：Communications Biology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1038/s42003-024-06662-z · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Occupational and environmental lung diseases、Occupational exposure and asthma、Legionella and Acanthamoeba research

Abstract Occupational crystalline silica (CS) particle exposure leads to silicosis. The burden of CS-associated disease remains high, and treatment options are limited due to vague mechanisms. Here we show that pulmonary CD4 + tissue-resident memory T cells (T RM ) accumulate in response to CS particles, mediating the pathogenesis of silicosis. The T RM cells are derived from peripheral lymphocyte recruitment and in situ expansion. Specifically, CD69 + CD103 + T RM -Tregs depend more on circulating T cell replenishment. CD69 and CD103 can divide the T RM cells into functionally distinct subsets, mirroring the immuno-balance within CD4 + T RM cells. However, targeting CD103 + T RM -Tregs do not mitigate disease phenotype since the T RM subsets exert immunosuppressive but not pro-fibrotic roles. After identifying pathogenic CD69 + CD103 - subsets, we highlight IL-7 for their maintenance and function, that present a promising avenue for mitigating silicosis. Together, our findings highlight the distinct role of CD4 + T RM cells in mediating CS-induced fibrosis and provide potential therapeutic strategies.