# Role of the prostaglandin D2 receptor CRTH2 in helminth-induced type 2 inflammation in the intestine

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $403,332

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Intestinal helminth parasites infect billions worldwide. Mammalian hosts mount a Type 2 inflammatory
response to infection, which is characterized by immune cell activation and intestinal epithelial cell mucus
secretion that lead to worm expulsion but can also cause pathological excess mucus production. Previous
work has focused on how host-derived proteins called cytokines control Type 2 inflammation, but other factors
such as the lipid prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) are also produced during infection. PGD2 promotes Type 2 allergic
lung inflammation by binding to CRTH2 (chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2
cells). However, how the PGD2-CRTH2 pathway interacts with cytokines to regulate Type 2 inflammation
during intestinal helminth infection is unclear. Our preliminary studies revealed that following infection with the
helminth Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, CRTH2-deficient mice had decreased Type 2 immune activation
compared to controls, but surprisingly also had increased epithelial mucin responses and accelerated worm
clearance. This phenotype was also observed in infected bone marrow chimeric mice in which only non-
hematopoietic cells lacked CRTH2, suggesting that the PGD2-CRTH2 pathway suppresses intestinal epithelial
cell mucus responses. Notably, how PGD2 production is regulated is unclear. The epithelial cell-derived
cytokine interleukin (IL)-33, which activates immune cells during helminth infection, elicits PGD2 production
from mast cells in vitro. Thus, IL-33 may activate the PGD2-CRTH2 pathway in vivo. Our preliminary studies
showed that following IL-33 treatment, CRTH2-deficient mice had impaired population expansion of IL-33-
responsive group 2 innate lymphoid cells compared to controls, suggesting that optimal responses to IL-33 in
vivo require CRTH2. Together, these data provoke the central hypothesis that during helminth infection, IL-33
activates the PGD2-CRTH2 pathway to balance Type 2 inflammatory responses, expelling worms efficiently
while limiting pathology. To test this hypothesis, we propose 2 Specific Aims. Aim 1 will test if PGD2 acts
directly on small intestinal epithelial cells to inhibit mucin production during Type 2 inflammation, dependent on
CRTH2, using small intestinal organoid cultures and a new mouse model that allows for deletion of CRTH2
only in intestinal epithelial cells. Aim 2 will test how IL-33 regulates PGD2 production by mast cells to shape
immune responses during Type 2 inflammation, using gain- and loss-of-function experiments, adoptive transfer
approaches, and bone marrow chimeric mice coupled with N. brasiliensis infection. These data will support the
generation of a new paradigm of helminth-induced Type 2 intestinal inflammation that incorporates the effects
of PGD2 and CRTH2, and will inform the development and use of drugs that target the PGD2-CRTH2 pathway
to treat diseases associated with Type 2 inflammation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10003945
- **Project number:** 5R01AI130379-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Elia D Tait Wojno
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $403,332
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10003945

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10003945, Role of the prostaglandin D2 receptor CRTH2 in helminth-induced type 2 inflammation in the intestine (5R01AI130379-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10003945. Licensed CC0.

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