Authors

Xin He, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USAFollow
Brad A. Howard, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Yang Liu, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA; Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300060, China
Aaron K. Neumann, Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Liwu Li, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Nidhi Menon, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA; Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Tiffany Roach, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Shiv D. Kale, Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
David C. Samuels, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
Hongyan Li, Department of General Surgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
Trenton Kite, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA; Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Hirohito Kita, Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
Tony Y. Hu, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
Mengyao Luo, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Caroline N. Jones, Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas, Dallas, TX 75080, USA
Uju Joy Okaa, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Diane L. Squillace, Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
Bruce S. Klein, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USAFollow
Christopher B. Lawrence, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USAFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-20-2021

Abstract

Chitin, a major component of fungal cell walls, has been associated with allergic disorders such as asthma. However, it is unclear how mammals recognize chitin and the principal receptor(s) on epithelial cells that sense chitin remain to be determined. In this study, we show that LYSMD3 is expressed on the surface of human airway epithelial cells and demonstrate that LYSMD3 is able to bind chitin, as well as β-glucan, on the cell walls of fungi. Knockdown or knockout of LYSMD3 also sharply blunts the production of inflammatory cytokines by epithelial cells in response to chitin and fungal spores. Competitive inhibition of the LYSMD3 ectodomain by soluble LYSMD3 protein, multiple ligands, or antibody against LYSMD3 also blocks chitin signaling. Our study reveals LYSMD3 as a mammalian pattern recognition receptor (PRR) for chitin and establishes its role in epithelial cell inflammatory responses to chitin and fungi.

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