Frontiers in Immunology (Mar 2020)

Altered Monocyte and Langerhans Cell Innate Immunity in Patients With Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP)

  • Mohd Israr,
  • James A. DeVoti,
  • Fung Lam,
  • Allan L. Abramson,
  • Bettie M. Steinberg,
  • Bettie M. Steinberg,
  • Vincent R. Bonagura,
  • Vincent R. Bonagura

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00336
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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The micromilieu within respiratory papillomas supports persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and disease recurrence in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). These patients show polarized (TH2-/Treg) adaptive immunity in papillomas and blood, enriched immature Langerhans cell (iLC) numbers, and overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2/prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the upper airway. Blood monocyte-derived, and tissue-derived iLCs from RRP patients and controls were now studied to more fully understand innate immune dysregulation in RRP. Patients' monocytes generated fewer iLCs than controls, due to a reduced fraction of classical monocytes that generated most but not all the iLCs. Prostaglandin E2, which was elevated in RRP plasma, reduced monocyte-iLC differentiation from controls to the levels of RRP patients, but had no effect on subsequent iLC maturation. Cytokine/chemokine responses by iLCs from papillomas, foreskin, and abdominal skin differed significantly. Freshly derived tissue iLCs expressed low CCL-1 and high CCL-20 mRNAs and were unresponsive to IL-36γ stimulation. Papilloma iLCs uniquely expressed IL-36γ at baseline and expressed CCL1 when cultured overnight outside their immunosuppressive microenvironment without additional stimulation. We conclude that monocyte/iLC innate immunity is impaired in RRP, in part due to increased PGE2 exposure in vivo. The immunosuppressive papilloma microenvironment likely alters iLC responses, and vice versa, supporting TH2-like/Treg HPV-specific adaptive immunity in RRP.

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