Neuronal-Immune Cell Units in Allergic Inflammation in the Nose

Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 22;23(13):6938. doi: 10.3390/ijms23136938.

Abstract

Immune cells and immune-derived molecules, endocrine glands and hormones, the nervous system and neuro molecules form the combined tridirectional neuroimmune network, which plays a significant role in the communication pathways and regulation at the level of the whole organism and local levels, in both healthy persons and patients with allergic rhinitis based on an allergic inflammatory process. This review focuses on a new research paradigm devoted to neuronal-immune cell units, which are involved in allergic inflammation in the nose and neuroimmune control of the nasal mucociliary immunologically active epithelial barrier. The categorization, cellular sources of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, and their prevalent profiles in constituting allergen tolerance maintenance or its breakdown are discussed. Novel data on the functional structure of the nasal epithelium based on a transcriptomic technology, single-cell RNA-sequencing results, are considered in terms of neuroimmune regulation. Notably, the research of pathogenesis and therapy for atopic allergic diseases, including recently identified local forms, from the viewpoint of the tridirectional interaction of the neuroimmune network and discrete neuronal-immune cell units is at the cutting-edge.

Keywords: allergic inflammation; allergic rhinitis; nasal barrier epithelium; neuroimmune system; neuronal-immune cell unit; neuropeptides; neurotransmitters; single-cell RNA-sequencing.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Allergens
  • Humans
  • Inflammation* / metabolism
  • Nasal Mucosa / metabolism
  • Nervous System
  • Rhinitis, Allergic* / metabolism

Substances

  • Allergens

Grants and funding

This review article received no external funding.