@article {VasiliouOP10, author = {Jessica Vasiliou and Stephen Lui and Rebekah Sherburn and Sejal Saglani and Clare M. Lloyd}, title = {LSC 2013 abstract - Early sources of IL-13 in house dust mite-induced neonatal allergic airways disease}, volume = {42}, number = {Suppl 57}, elocation-id = {OP10}, year = {2013}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Innate immunity is important in neonatal immune defence. Innate lymphoid cells have been identified in the lung, and due to their ability to produce interlukin (IL)-13 they have been shown to be both necessary and sufficient in the induction of allergic airway inflammation. We aimed to investigate the source of IL-13 in a house dust mite (HDM)-induced neonatal model of allergic airways disease. Intranasal HDM was administered intermittently from day 3 of life for 2 weeks. Mice were culled at 1 and 2 weeks of age and flow cytometry used to assess cell populations in the lung. HDM-exposed neonatal mice show increased lung inflammation at weeks 1 and 2 and an associated increase in IL-13. IL-13+ innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) were significantly elevated in the lungs of HDM-exposed neonatal mice 1 week after allergen exposure compared to controls, however IL-13+ CD4+ T cells were more prevalent. IL-13+ CD4+ T cells were observed in non-allergic neonatal mice, with this population decreasing with age. Conversely, IL-13+ ILCs increased with age in non-allergic neonatal mice. In order to assess the relative contribution of IL-13+ CD4+ T cells and IL-13+ ILCs in disease development, neonatal SCID mice were administered HDM from day 3 of life for 2 weeks. In contrast to immunocompetent mice, HDM-exposed SCID mice did not develop airway hyperresponsiveness. Collectively, these data suggest an early Th2-skew in the lung during the early postnatal period which is critical for the development of neonatal allergic airways disease.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/OP10}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/OP10.full.pdf}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }