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Staphylococcus aureus exacerbates dermal IL-33/ILC2 axis activation through evoking RIPK3/MLKL-mediated necroptosis of dry skin
Chia-Hui Luo, Alan Chuan-Ying Lai, Chun-Chou Tsai, Wei-Yu Chen, Yu-Shan Chang, Ethan Ja-Chen Chung, Ya-Jen Chang
Chia-Hui Luo, Alan Chuan-Ying Lai, Chun-Chou Tsai, Wei-Yu Chen, Yu-Shan Chang, Ethan Ja-Chen Chung, Ya-Jen Chang
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Research Article Immunology Inflammation

Staphylococcus aureus exacerbates dermal IL-33/ILC2 axis activation through evoking RIPK3/MLKL-mediated necroptosis of dry skin

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Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a persistent skin disease typified by symptoms of dry skin and recurrent eczema. Patients with AD are at heightened risk for Staphylococcus aureus infection. Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are mainly activated by epithelial cell–derived cytokines IL-33 and involved in the pathogenesis of AD. However, little is known about the effect of skin delipidization on the epithelial cell–derived cytokines and dermal ILC2s in AD. In our study, we investigated the mechanism by which S. aureus infection modulates and exacerbates the pathogenesis of dry skin, leading to type 2 inflammation in the context of innate immunity. In vivo, we found that S. aureus infection aggravated delipidization-induced dermal IL-33 release and dermal ILC2 accumulation, which exacerbated skin inflammation. We also noticed that Il33fl/fl K14cre mice and Tlr2–/– mice exhibited attenuated skin inflammation. In vitro, treatment with necroptosis inhibitors reduced IL-33 release from S. aureus–infected keratinocytes. Mechanistically, we observed an increase in the necroptosis-associated kinases, MLKL and RIPK3, in S. aureus–infected mice, indicating that IL-33 release was associated with necroptotic cell death responses. Our results reveal that S. aureus infection–elicited keratinocyte necroptosis contributes to IL-33–mediated type 2 inflammation, which exacerbates the pathogenesis of dry skin.

Authors

Chia-Hui Luo, Alan Chuan-Ying Lai, Chun-Chou Tsai, Wei-Yu Chen, Yu-Shan Chang, Ethan Ja-Chen Chung, Ya-Jen Chang

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Figure 3

Delipidization induces dermal ILC2 accumulation.

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Delipidization induces dermal ILC2 accumulation.
(A–C) Three-week-old C5...
(A–C) Three-week-old C57BL/6 mice were treated with AEW for 2 days; controls were treated with water. (A) Total number of CD45+ cells, T cells, and innate lymphoid cells (T/ILC), neutrophils (PMN), macrophages (Mϕ), eosinophils (Eosin), mast cells (Mast), and basophils (Baso) in the skin. (B) Total number of ST2+ cells of indicated types in the skin. (C) Pie charts depicting the relative proportions of lymphocytes and myeloid cells within the total ST2+ cells present in skin. (D and E) Levels of Il13 in the skin of 3-week-old ST2fl/fl and ST2fl/flLysMcre mice (D) and Rag2–/– and Rag2–/– Il2rg–/– mice (E) treated or not with AEW for 2 days. (F and G) Three-week-old WT and Rag2–/– mice were treated with AEW for 2 days; controls were treated with water. Representative FACS analysis and quantitation of cell numbers of dermal ILC2s (CD45+Lin–Thy1.2+GATA3+ICOS+CD103+) in skin. (H) Representative FACS analysis of T-bet, GATA3, and RORγt expression in dermal ILCs (CD45+Lin–Thy1.2+ICOS+CD103+) in the skin of WT mice. (I and J) Three-week-old Rag1–/– or Rag1–/– Rorasg/sg mice were treated with AEW for 2 days; controls were treated with water. Levels Il13 (I) and Il6 (J) mRNA quantified in the skin. Data are shown as mean ± SEM from 3 independent experiments (n = 3–12 per group). Statistical analysis was performed using 1-way ANOVA (A, B, D, E, G, I, and J). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001.

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