Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2019
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) causes substantial human and economic costs both in the US and worldwide. To identify the molecular mechanisms to allow for targeted therapies for COPD, we developed a high-fidelity mouse model of chronic lung inflammation using the natural rodent pathogen Sendai virus (SeV). While nucleic acid-sensing pattern recognition receptors are important for innate immune responses to viral pathogens, there have been few studies investigating their role in the context of chronic disease. Here we show that Toll-like receptor 3 (Tlr3) signaling is required for the development of chronic lung disease in a postviral mouse model. Activation of Tlr3 in inflammatory monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) is necessary for the development of chronic lung disease. moDCs form an immune cell niche that drives epithelial alveolar type II cell (AT2) proliferation and interleukin-33 (Il33) expression. Il33 then leads to activation of downstream effector immune cells that produce a chronic inflammatory disease phenotype.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Michael J. Holtzman
Committee Members
Gaya Amarasinghe, John P. Atkinson, Mark J. Miller, Rodney D. Newberry,
Recommended Citation
Wang, Xinyu, "Activation of Toll-like Receptor 3 Translates to Long-term Post-viral Lung Disease" (2019). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1768.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1768
Included in
Allergy and Immunology Commons, Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Medical Immunology Commons
Comments
Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/yddd-qg70