# Development and function of inflammatory innate lymphoid cells

> **NIH NIH R01** · ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE · 2020 · $404,135

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 The goal of this project is to understand the mechanisms that control effector lymphocyte stability and
plasticity, and how this regulation influences human health and disease. Recent studies indicate that innate
lymphocytes possess substantial plasticity. The underlying mechanisms, and the implications for health and
disease, remain unknown. Our preliminary data indicate that exposure to Notch signaling can elicit innate
lymphocyte plasticity and train mature group-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) to acquire the ability to co-produce
large amounts of both ILC2- and ILC3- characteristic cytokines, thus converting natural ILC2 (nILC2) into
plastic inflammatory ILC2 (iILC2). Our new data suggest that such plastic iILC2 are relatively enriched in the
airway of patients with severe refractory asthma. In this project, we will use adoptive transfer, chromatin
immunoprecipitation, and RNA sequencing experiments to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms by
which Notch signaling elicits ILC2 plasticity. We will also examine the capability of human and mouse iILC2 to
mediate airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness. Finally, we will investigate the association between the
development of plastic iILC2 and the susceptibility to severe refractory asthma in human adult patients.
Together, these experiments will shed light on the mechanisms that govern lymphocyte lineage stability and
plasticity, and will inform strategies of targeted therapy to treat patients with asthma and other auto-immune
and inflammatory disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9918449
- **Project number:** 5R01HL137813-03
- **Recipient organization:** ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Qi yang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $404,135
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-15 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9918449

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9918449, Development and function of inflammatory innate lymphoid cells (5R01HL137813-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9918449. Licensed CC0.

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