Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in inflammation and allergy

Front. Immunol., 04 December 2013 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00428

Kimberly D. Fischer¹ and Devendra K. Agrawal^1,2,3,4*

• ¹Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA
• ²Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA
• ³Department of Internal Medicine, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA
• ⁴Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells contribute to allergic inflammation. Pro-inflammatory cytokines that are generated following allergen challenge can impact the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells leading to increased production of effector cells such as eosinophils and basophils, which are key cells involved in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. Homing of stem cells to the lungs is associated with inflammatory and remodeling changes in asthmatics. Factors that modulate the differentiation and increased migration of stem cells to the site of inflammation in asthma remain to be defined. Stem cells can mature at the site of inflammation in response to inflammatory mediators and other components in the milieu. While the available data suggest that hematopoietic cells traffic to target tissues, the molecular factors underlying in situ differentiation have yet to be specified. Here, we critically evaluate the potential role of hematopoietic progenitors in contributing to the increased immune cell infiltrate in allergic asthma and the factors that drive their differentiation.

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Keywords: allergic asthma, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, inflammation, eosinophils, fibrocytes

Citation: Fischer KD and Agrawal DK (2013) Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in inflammation and allergy. Front. Immunol. 4:428. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00428

Received: 01 November 2013; Paper pending published: 18 November 2013;
Accepted: 20 November 2013; Published online: 04 December 2013.

Edited by:

Zoulfia Allakhverdi, University of Montreal, Canada

Reviewed by:

Fulvio D’Acquisto, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Manuela Mengozzi, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK

Copyright: © 2013 Fischer and Agrawal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Devendra K. Agrawal, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Creighton University School of Medicine, CRISS II Room 510, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA e-mail: dkagr@creighton.edu