Epithelial damage and tissue γδ T cells promote a unique tumor-protective IgE response

IgE is an ancient and conserved immunoglobulin isotype with potent immunological function. Nevertheless, the regulation of IgE responses remains an enigma, and evidence of a role for IgE in host defense is limited. Here we report that topical exposure to a common environmental DNA-damaging xenobiotic initiated stress surveillance by γδTCR+ intraepithelial lymphocytes that resulted in class switching to IgE in B cells and the accumulation of autoreactive IgE. High-throughput antibody sequencing revealed that γδ T cells shaped the IgE repertoire by supporting specific variable-diversity-joining (VDJ) rearrangements with unique characteristics of the complementarity-determining region CDRH3. This endogenous IgE response, via the IgE receptor FcεRI, provided protection against epithelial carcinogenesis, and expression of the gene encoding FcεRI in human squamous-cell carcinoma correlated with good disease prognosis. These data indicate a joint role for immunosurveillance by T cells and by B cells in epithelial tissues and suggest that IgE is part of the host defense against epithelial damage and tumor development

Stakeholder needs for air pollution and health information.

Within the European Commission-supported thematic network project AIRNET, a stakeholder survey was performed to identify key questions and issues of concern for end users regarding air pollution and health information. On the whole, survey respondents typically asked general questions concerning air pollution and health (i.e., regarding the type of pollutant, emission sources, monitoring, and health impact). Furthermore, an overwhelming response across all stakeholder categories was not the unavailability of information sources to inform policy, but the lack of time available to read and absorb all the information. Overall, the respondents expressed their preference for information that is (1) presented as short and clear overviews, (2) ready for policy use by including a practical linkage between the research findings and implementation of public protection, and (3) in a format easily passed on to others.AIRNET is an EC-funded project initiated within the Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources program of the European Commission (QLRT-2001-00441, Key Action 4, Environment and Health