Article

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin:a potential therapeutic target for allergy and asthma.

Immunology Allergy & Rheumatology Section,Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza,BCM 285, Houston TX 77030, USA.
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports (impact factor: 2.5). 10/2006; 6(5):372-6. DOI:10.1007/s11882-996-0006-7 pp.372-6
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an interleukin (IL)-7-like cytokine that has recently been implicated as central to the microenvironment and is permissive for the immunologic cascade that initiates and propagates allergic immune responses. In humans, TSLP is produced predominantly by epithelial cells and activated mast cells, and stimulates myeloid dendritic cells (mDC), which uniquely express the heterodimeric TSLP receptor. TSLP-activated mDC can promote naïve CD4+ T cells to differentiate into a Th2 phenotype and can promote the expansion of CD4+ Th2 memory cells. Recent evidence implicates TSLP as playing a pivotal role in the pathobiology of allergic asthma and atopic dermatitis. The potential for TSLP to provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of allergic disorders is compelling, and elucidating the mechanisms that regulate TSLP expression and the effects of TSLP on orchestrating the immune response toward a Th2 phenotype should facilitate this quest.

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Keywords

activated mast cells
 
allergic asthma
 
allergic disorders
 
atopic dermatitis
 
CD4+ Th2 memory cells
 
heterodimeric TSLP receptor
 
immune response
 
immunologic cascade
 
interleukin
 
naïve CD4+ T cells
 
new therapeutic target
 
pivotal role
 
propagates allergic immune responses
 
quest
 
Recent evidence implicates TSLP
 
regulate TSLP expression
 
stimulates myeloid dendritic cells
 
Th2 phenotype
 
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin
 
TSLP-activated mDC
 

David P Huston