Retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma controls immunoglobulin production and Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in the adaptive immune response to allergen.

The retinoid-related orphan receptors (ROR) comprise a distinct subfamily of nuclear receptors with the capacity to act as both repressors and activators of transcription. RORgamma, the most recently identified member of the ROR family, has been shown to be important for the development of normal lymphocyte compartments as well as organogenesis of some lymphoid organs. In this report, we examine the capacity of RORgamma-deficient mice to develop an adaptive immune response to Ag using OVA-induced inflammation in mice as a model for allergic airway disease.

Modulatory role for retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha in allergen-induced lung inflammation.

Rationale: Nuclear receptors play a critical role in the regulation of inflammation, thus representing attractive targets for the treatment of asthma.

Objective: In this study, we assess the potential regulatory function of retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORalpha) in the adaptive immune response using ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation as a model.

Methods: Allergen-induced inflammation was compared between wild-type (WT) and staggerer (RORalpha(sg/sg)) mice, a natural mutant strain that is deficient in RORalpha expression.

Pulmonary immune responses to Propionibacterium acnes in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice.

Propionibacterium acnes (PA) is a gram-positive anaerobic bacterium implicated as a putative etiologic agent of sarcoidosis. To characterize the pulmonary immune response to PA, C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally sensitized and intratracheally challenged with heat-killed bacteria. C57BL/6 mice challenged with PA developed a cellular immune response characterized by elevations in Th1 cytokines/chemokines, increased numbers of lymphocytes and macrophages in lung lavage fluid, and peribronchovascular granulomatous inflammation composed of T- and B-lymphocytes and epithelioid histiocytes.