Th17 signaling in asthma: relevance for psychopathology and neuroinflammation

Asthma influences brain health both functionally (emotions) and structurally (neurodegeneration). Although airway inflammation is proposed to initiate afferent communications with the brain, the associated patterns of airway inflammation and gene-expression profiles are not established. Here, we investigate associations of gene expression in response to allergen challenge in the lung with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the brain. Overall design: Segmental bronchial provocation with allergen (SBP-Ag) was used to provoke airway inflammation and retrieve airway cells to characterize cellular responses by RNA-sequencing to determine gene-expression profiles. Differential gene-expression was assessed by cell deconvolution modular analysis coupled with linear modeling. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessed brain function; data were acquired at baseline and 48h following SBP-Ag. Activation in brain regions of interest (amygdala, insula and anterior cingulate cortex) was correlated with inflammatory patterns of airway cell gene-expression.