Abstract
Atopic asthma is a prevalent respiratory disease that is characterized by inflammation, mucus hypersecretion, and airway hyperresponsiveness. The complexity of this heterogeneous disorder has commanded the need to better define asthma phenotypes based on underlying molecular mechanisms of disease. Although classically viewed as a type 2-regulated disease, type 17 helper T (Th17) cells are known to be influential in asthma pathogenesis, predominantly in asthmatics with neutrophilia and severe refractory disease. Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) chromatin adaptors serve as immunomodulators by directly regulating Th17 responses and Th17-mediated pathology in murine models of autoimmunity and infection. Based on this, we hypothesized that BET proteins may also play an essential role in neutrophil-dominant allergic airway disease. Using a murine model of neutrophil-dominant allergic airway disease, we demonstrate that BET inhibition limits pulmonary inflammation and alters the Th17-related inflammatory milieu in the lungs. In addition, inhibition of BET proteins improved lung function (specifically quasi-static lung compliance and tissue elastance) and reduced mucus production in airways. Overall, these studies show that BET proteins may have a critical role in asthma pathogenesis by altering type 17 inflammation, and thus interfering with BET-dependent chromatin signaling may provide clinical benefits to patients suffering from asthma.