Exposure to cigarette smoke impacts myeloid-derived regulatory cell function and exacerbates airway hyper-responsiveness

Cigarette smoking enhances oxidative stress and airway inflammation in asthma, the mechanisms of which are largely unknown. Myeloid-derived regulatory cells (MDRC) are free radical producing immature myeloid cells with immunoregulatory properties which have recently been demonstrated as critical regulators of allergic airway inflammation. NO (nitric oxide)-producing immunosuppressive MDRC suppress T cell proliferation and airway-hyper responsiveness (AHR), while the O(2)(•−) (superoxide)-producing MDRC are proinflammatory. We hypothesized that cigarette smoke (CS) exposure may impact MDRC function and contribute to exacerbations in asthma. Exposure of bone marrow (BM) derived NO-producing MDRC to CS reduced the production of NO and its metabolites and inhibited their potential to suppress T cell proliferation. Production of immunoregulatory cytokine IL-10 was significantly inhibited, while proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-33 were enhanced in CS exposed BMMDRC. Additionally, CS exposure increased NF-κB activation and induced BM-MDRC-mediated production of O(2)(•−), via NF-κB dependent pathway. Intratracheal transfer of smoke exposed MDRC producing proinflammatory cytokines increased NF-κB activation, reactive oxygen species and mucin production in vivo and exacerbated AHR in C57BL/6 mice, mice deficient in Type I IFNR and MyD88, both with reduced numbers of endogenous MDRC. Thus, CS exposure modulates MDRC function and contributes to asthma exacerbation and identifies MDRC as potential targets for asthma therapy.