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Selenium affects allergic asthma by regulating CD4+ T cell activation and dendritic cell maturation
Author(s) -
Hoffmann Peter R,
Hoffmann FuKun,
JourdanLeSaux Claude,
Bollt Oana,
Tam Elizabeth,
Berry Marla J
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.670.15
Subject(s) - foxp3 , immune system , immunology , asthma , t cell , chemistry , dendritic cell , biology
To assess the affect of dietary selenium (Se) on the development of asthma, we fed diets containing low (0.08 ppm), medium (0.25 ppm), or high (2.7 ppm) Se to mice and used an established OVA challenge protocol to induce allergic asthma. Results demonstrated that mice fed medium levels of Se had the highest levels of asthma. In contrast, responses to OVA challenge were less robust in mice fed low or high levels of Se. To evaluate potential mechanisms by which Se affects allergic asthma, we measured the effect of Se levels on activation of CD4 + T cells and maturation of dendritic cells (DCs). Consistent with the asthma results, medium Se led to highest levels of proliferation and increased expression of Th2 marker, OX40. Medium Se also led to highest increases in the DC2 marker, OX40L. Interestingly, increasing Se levels correlated with increased percentage of CD25 hi FoxP3 + cells and decreasing RANKL hi expression, both consistent with a Treg phenotype. Overall, our results suggest that Th2‐type responses, like those that drive allergic asthma, are influenced by dietary Se levels through a mechanism that involves interactions between DCs and CD4 + T cells mediated by OX40‐OX40L. Moreover, increased Se intake may lead to increased numbers of Treg cells that arise during the initiation of immune responses, and this may be a mechanism by which Se intake regulates a wide variety of immune responses.