Comparing transcriptional profiles of type 2 innate lymphoid cells from WT and Rag1 knockout mice

Type 2 inflammation contributes to the pathology of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and urticaria. Type 2 innate lymphoid cells are key mediators of skin inflammation by releasing type 2 cytokines in response to certain environmental stimuli. We recently found that Rag1 knockout mice exhibit more pronounced skin inflammation in a mouse model of atopic-dermatitis-like disease, despite lacking adaptive immune cells like T helper 2 cells, implicating a critical role of type 2 innate lymphoid cells in this condition. The goal of this study was to characterize transcriptional differences between WT and Rag KO type 2 innate lymphoid cells to determine if Rag knockout leads to cell-intrinsic alterations in innate lymphoid cell function. To directly compare the transcriptional profiles of ILC2s that developed with (WT) or without (Rag1-/-) Rag1 expression, we transplanted bone marrow from the corresponding mice into congenic WT recipients and then sorted ILC2s either 8 weeks or 12 weeks after transplant for RNA-sequencing.