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In the meantime, you can enjoy access to all the latest news, events and resources for different therapy areas on our website.A receptor tyrosine kinase found to regulate type 2 immune response
Type 2 immunity has protective functions but also drives allergic disease. 1However the mechanisms that regulate the scale of type 2 immune responses have been largely unknown. 1A recent study published in Science has identified a mechanism involving a receptor tyrosine kinase, TYRO3, which controls the intensity of type 2 responses. 1
Mice models that lacked TYRO3 (Tyro3-/-) and were sensitised to house dust mite allergens had more robust type 2 immune responses than wild-type house dust mite-sensitised mice. 1
When challenged, house dust mite-sensitised Tyro3-/- mice had increased lung and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid leukocytes and eosinophils, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and CD4+ T cells compared with house dust mite-sensitised wild-type mice. 1
In addition, Tyro3-/- mice infected with the helminth Nippostringylus brasilensis had enhanced type 2 responses, and improved clearance of the parasite, compared with wild-type mice infected with the parasite. 1
To explore if TYRO3 could also regulate immune responses in humans, the authors performed mixed-lymphocyte reactions in the presence of anti-TYRO3 antibodies. 1Functional neutralisation of TYRO3 led to increased interleukin-13 production by T cells in this model. 1
TYRO3 and its ligand PROS1 act in concert as evolutionarily conserved negative regulators of the scale of type 2 immune responses. 1
The authors proposed that TYRO3 could be a target for novel pharmaceuticals that manipulate this pathway upstream of IgE production. 1For instance, activating TYRO3 could diminish allergic immune responses, whilst inhibition of TYRO3 could enhance type 2 immune responses and improve parasite clearance. 1
