The following is a summary of “Local type 2 immunity in eosinophilic gastritis,” published in the JULY 2023 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Morgenstern, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to investigate the gastric T-cell populations and their association with histologic and endoscopic pathology in eosinophilic gastritis (EoG) and controls. Gastric biopsy samples from 6 EoG patients and 7 controls were analyzed using histologic, endoscopic, and flow cytometry techniques. Additionally, in a separate cohort of 83 EoG patients, mRNA levels of type 2 cytokines (IL4, IL5, and IL13) were correlated with EoG pathologic parameters.

CD3⁺ T cells were mainly CD8⁺  in gastric biopsy samples, with a comparable CD8/CD4 ratio in EoG and control samples (5.7 ± 3.0 and 4.3 ± 0.6, respectively; P = .28). EoG samples showed increased levels of gastric regulatory T cells (CD3⁺ CD4⁺ FOXP3⁺) and T_H2 cells (CD3⁺ CD4⁺ GATA3⁺ ) compared to controls (2-fold, P < .05 and 10-fold, P < .001, respectively). These T-cell populations correlated with gastric eosinophil levels, endoscopic pathology, and histopathology (r = 0.63, P < .05 and r = 0.85, P < .001 for regulatory T cells; r = 0.56, P < .01 and r = 0.84, P < .001 for T_H2 cells). Cytokine-positive T cells, particularly IL-4-producing T_H2 cells, strongly correlated with histologic and endoscopic scores (r = 0.82, P < .0001 and r = 0.78, P < .0001, respectively). In an independent EoG cohort (n = 83), bulk gastric IL4, IL5, and IL13 mRNA levels correlated with histologic and endoscopic scores (r = 0.22, P < .005; r = 0.54, P < .0001; and r = 0.36, P < .0001, respectively).

EoG is associated with T_H2 cells and increased gastric production of type 2 cytokines, particularly IL-4. These findings suggest that gastric CD3⁺ CD4⁺ GATA3⁺ T_H2 cells play a significant role in EoG pathologies, and their presence strongly correlates with disease severity in histologic and endoscopic assessments.

Source: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(23)00146-X/fulltext