The role of CD39 and CD73 expressed by regulatory T cell in the pathogenesis of asthma in mice

Objective To investigate the effects of CD39 and CD73 positive CD4+CD25+Foxp3+regulatory T lymphocytes on airway inflammation and its mechanism in mice with bronchial asthma. Methods 16 adult female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into asthma group and control group. All mice were sacrificed in 24h after the last challenge, and the total IgE in serum was measured by ELISA; the ATP level in the BALF was measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC); the left lung was stained by HE staining to observe the inflammation; The upper lobe of the right lung was for CD39, CD73, Foxp3mRNA detection; single cell suspension from the left right lung was used to examine the ratio of CD39+Treg and CD73+Treg cells relative to Treg cells by Flow cytometry. Results The serum total IgE was significantly increased (P<0.01), ATP in BALF was higher (P<0.05), and pathological examination showed that pulmonary inflammatory changes were significantly enhanced in asthma group than that in control group. The difference of CD39, CD73 and Foxp3 mRNA expression between the two groups has statistical significance (P<0.05) FACS test found that the number of CD39+Treg cells and CD73+Treg cells in asthma group decreased compared with the control group. Conclusions The decrease and/or dysfunction of CD39+Treg and CD73+Treg cells in the lung may induce extracellular ATP clearance disorder. It may be one of the important mechanisms of airway inflammation in asthma.