Background

Allergic asthma is one of the most common diseases worldwide, resulting in a burden of diseases. No available therapeutic regimens can cure asthma so far.

Objective

To identify new molecular targets for Th9 cells-mediated allergic airway inflammation.

Methods

Wild-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) gene knockout mice, Wip1 inhibitor-treated mice and ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic airway inflammation mouse models were employed to characterize the roles of Wip1 in allergic airway inflammation. The induction of Th cell subsets in vitro, real-time PCR, immunoblots, luciferase assay and ChIP assays were employed to determine the regulatory pathways of Wip1 in Th9 differentiation.

Results

We herein demonstrate that Wip1-deficient mice are less prone to allergic airway inflammation as indicated by the decreased pathological alterations in lungs. Short-term treatment of Wip1-specific inhibitor significantly ameliorates allergic inflammation progression. Intriguingly, Wip1 selectively impaired Th9 cell but not Th1, Th2 and Th17 cell differentiation. Biochemical assays show that Wip1 deficiency increases c-Jun/c-Fos activity in a JNK-dependent manner and that c-Jun/c-Fos directly binds to Il-9 promoter and inhibits Il-9 transcription.

Conclusion

Phosphatase Wip1 controls Th9 cell development through regulating c-Jun/c-Fos activity on Il-9 promoter and is important for the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. These findings shed lights on the previously unrecognized roles of Wip1 in Th9 cell differentiation. The inhibitory effects of a Wip1 inhibitor on the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation may have important implications for clinical application of Wip1 inhibitors in allergy therapies.