Thymic stromal lymphopoietin drives the development of IL-13 ⁺ Th2 cells

Abstract

Significance T helper 2 (Th2) cells are defined by their ability to produce the hallmark cytokine IL-4. However, to mediate allergic inflammation in tissues, Th2 cells must secrete additional cytokines including IL-13 and IL-5. We used IL-4 and IL-13 dual-reporter mice to show that naive CD4 + T cells cultured in the presence of IL-4 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) generate a population of IL-4 neg IL-13 pos Th2 cells that develop from IL-4 neg precursors and express the Th2 effector cytokines IL-5 and IL-9. In vivo, high TSLP levels promote the development of a similar population of IL-4 neg IL-13 pos T cells that also express Gata3 , Il5 , and Il3 transcripts. Thus, TSLP drives the early differentiation of a distinct population of effector Th2 cells with pro-inflammatory properties.