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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Apr 8.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Immunol. 2015 Jan;15(1):57–65. doi: 10.1038/nri3786

Figure 1. Type 2 immune responses in asthma.

Figure 1

Release of epithelial cell cytokines, particularly interleukin-33 (IL-33) and thymic stromal lymphopoeitin (TSLP), induces the expression of OX40 ligand (OX40L; also known as TNFSF4) on dendritic cells (DCs) to promote their mobilization to local draining lymph nodes where they activate naive CD4+ T cells to an IL-4-competent state. These IL-4-competent T cells in the lymph nodes migrate to B cell zones where they differentiate into T follicular helper (TFH) cells and move into the circulation to complete maturation as T helper 2 (TH2) cells. IL-4-secreting TFH cells in parafollicular B cell areas mediate IgE class-switching in B cells, whereas TH2 cells that migrate to the airway epithelium and to the subepithelial mucosa secrete IL-5 and IL-13 to mediate inflammatory and remodelling changes in the airway mucosa that predispose an individual to asthma and to asthma exacerbations. ILC2, group 2 innate lymphoid cell; TSLPR, TSLP receptor.