肿瘤坏死因子样配体 1A/死亡受体 3 信号调控实验性克罗恩病中致病性辅助性 T 细胞 9 的生成

Polarized Th9 cells with functional DR3 and DR3-deficient Th9 cells from SAMP wild-type (Th9 WT ) and DR3 -/- ×SAMP knockout (Th9 KO ) mice, respectively, were characterized and adoptively transferred into Rag2 -/- and SAMP×Rag2 -/- recipients. Expression of Th9-associated molecules from experimental mice and IBD patients/controls was compared.

Th9 WT possess a proinflammatory profile compared with Th9 KO cells; conversely, ablation of DR3 signaling generates anti-inflammatory responses, as reflected by increased IL10-producing cells in DR3 -/- ×SAMP mice. RNA sequencing and phosphoproteomic analyses show that inflammatory pathways are robustly activated in Th9 WT compared with Th9 KO cells, whereas Th9 cells are detected in SAMP mice in vivo, and Th9-related genes display the same expression patterns in both experimental ileitis and IBD patients. Finally, in the T-cell adoptive transfer model, Th9 KO cells are less colitogenic than Th9 WT , whereas IL9 blockade diminishes the severity of intestinal inflammation, indicating a crucial role of functional DR3 receptor in the pathogenicity of Th9 cells.

We demonstrate that the functional DR3 receptor is essential for Th9 cell pathogenicity, revealing a new mechanism by which TL1A/DR3 signaling drives experimental CD-like ileitis. The TL1A/DR3/Th9 proinflammatory pathway may offer a novel therapeutic target for patients with CD.