Lung-brain neuroimmune circuit in asthma

Lung respiratory physiology and immunity is controlled by vagal sensory neurons but the subtypes mediating responses to specific inputs , i.e., allergen, are not well understood.

The researchers show in this study that Vip+ vagal subsets of sensory neurons control allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity and type 2 inflammation. Selective ablation of Vip⁺ neurons leads to reduced airway hyperreactivity and type 2 cytokine expression, whereas chemogenetic activation of Vip⁺ neurons leads to elevated responses.

The authors also demonstrate that NGFR the highly enriched receptor in Vip⁺ vagal neurons and its signaling is required for Vip+ - mediated airway hyperreactivity.

This study also demonstrate that Vip+ neurons relay peripheral allergen signals to the brainstem, defining a lung-brain neuroimmune circuit that contributes to asthma pathogenesis.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(26)00365-7

https://sciencemission.com/vagal-neurons-control-allergen-induced-responses