Adaptation of innate lymphoid cells to a micronutrient deficiency promotes type 2 barrier immunity.
How the immune system adapts to malnutrition to sustain immunity at barrier surfaces, such as the intestine, remains unclear. Vitamin A deficiency is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies and is associated with profound defects in adaptive immunity. Here, we found that type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are severely diminished in vitamin A-deficient settings, which results in compromised immunity to acute bacterial infection. However, vitamin A deprivation paradoxically resulted in dramatic expansion of interleukin-13 (IL-13)-producing ILC2s and resistance to nematode infection in mice, which revealed that ILCs are primary sensors of dietary stress. Further, these data indicate that, during malnutrition, a switch to innate type 2 immunity may represent a powerful adaptation of the immune system to promote host survival in the face of ongoing barrier challenges.
Immunity at Barrier Sites Initiative, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, NIH, Bethesda 20892, USA.
S P
SP
Spencer
C
C
Wilhelm
Q
Q
Yang
J A
JA
Hall
N
N
Bouladoux
A
A
Boyd
T B
TB
Nutman
J F
JF
Urban
J
J
Wang
T R
TR
Ramalingam
A
A
Bhandoola
T A
TA
Wynn
Y
Y
Belkaid
D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D044082:Citrobacter rodentium / Q000276:immunology; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000276:immunology; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000172:deficiency*; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000276:immunology*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000276:immunology*
D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D018793:Interleukin-13; D018977:Micronutrients; D014801:Vitamin A; C064658:RAG-1 protein