CD8+ Tc2 cells: underappreciated contributors to severe asthma

What is it about?

There are several different types of asthma: the world’s most common lung disease. Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways. This inflammation is driven by cells which produce type-2 cytokines: proteins which serve as messengers between inflammatory cells and are known to cause allergic inflammation. For decades the main source of these cytokines has been consider an inflammatory cell subset called ‘Th2’ cells. However many of the studies investigating Th2 cells in asthma have also shown that a related cell called a ‘Tc2’ cell is also a major source of the same cytokines. Despite this Tc2 cells have not received much attention. In this review we provide a summary of the literature regarding Tc2 cells and show that they are indeed major players in the processes underlying asthma. They also tend to be less susceptible to treatment with steroids – the mainstay of asthma therapy – and therefore may be important cells to better understand and target in studies investigating potential new treatments in asthma.

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