Molecule plays important role in triggering immune response

Fighting off gut-dwelling parasitic worms requires the immune system to generate a specific type of response called type 2 immunity -- the same type of immune response that can promote tissue healing and mediate allergic reactions. A team of scientists led by William Gause at Rutgers found that mice lacking adenosine receptors could not develop effective type 2 immune responses during parasitic worm infections. The lack of adenosine signaling dampened production of an immune protein called interleukin (IL)-33, which was required to orchestrate the activation of various cells and proteins comprising the type 2 response. Indeed, provision of IL-33 in the absence of adenosine receptors restored type 2 immunity. In their model, tissue damage caused by the invading parasite triggers adenosine release leading to the development of the type 2 immune response.

Adenosine may thus serve as an essential danger signal that alerts the body and activates an immune response to invading parasites. The study may also help us to understand how non-infectious insults causing tissue damage, such as allergens or particulate debris from prosthetic implants, similarly trigger type 2 immunity.