Formaldehyde exacerbates inflammation and biases T helper cell lineage commitment through IFN-γ/STAT1/T-bet pathway in asthma

Huijuan Ma; Tingqian Wang; Junfeng Wang; Peiyao Wang; Qi Shu; Ruilin Qin; Sijia Li; Huan Xu

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (Jul 2024)

Formaldehyde exacerbates inflammation and biases T helper cell lineage commitment through IFN-γ/STAT1/T-bet pathway in asthma

Huijuan Ma,
Tingqian Wang,
Junfeng Wang,
Peiyao Wang,
Qi Shu,
Ruilin Qin,
Sijia Li,
Huan Xu

Affiliations

Huijuan Ma: School of Public Health, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province 231131, China; Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Tingqian Wang: Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Junfeng Wang: School of Public Health, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province 231131, China
Peiyao Wang: Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Qi Shu: Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Ruilin Qin: Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Sijia Li: Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Huan Xu: School of Public Health, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province 231131, China; Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Optogenetic Techniques for Cell Metabolism, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Corresponding author at: School of Public Health, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province 231131, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 280
p. 116534

Abstract

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The correlation between formaldehyde (FA) exposure and prevalence of asthma has been widely reported. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. FA exposure at 2.0 mg/m3 was found to exacerbate asthma in OVA-induced murine models. IFN-γ, the cytokine produced by T helper 1 (Th1) cells, was significantly induced by FA in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of asthmatic mice, which was different from cytokines secreted by other Th cells. The observation was also confirmed by mRNA levels of Th marker genes in CD4+ T cells isolated from BALF. In addition, increased production of IFN-γ and expression of T-bet in Jurkat T cells primed with phorbol ester and phytohaemagglutinin were also observed with 100 μM FA treatment in vitro. Upregulated STAT1 phosphorylation, T-bet expression and IFN-γ production induced by FA was found to be restrained by STAT1 inhibitor fludarabine, indicating that FA promoted Th1 commitment through the autocrine IFN-γ/STAT1/T-bet pathway in asthma. This work not only revealed that FA could bias Th lineage commitment to exacerbate allergic asthma, but also identified the signaling mechanism of FA-induced Th1 differentiation, which may be utilized as the target for development of interfering strategies against FA-induced immune disorders.

Published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

ISSN: 0147-6513 (Print); 1090-2414 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering: Environmental pollution; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecotoxicology-and-environmental-safety

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