IL-17A–Producing γδ T and Th17 Lymphocytes Mediate Lung Inflammation but Not Fibrosis in Experimental Silicosis

Abstract IL-17–producing T lymphocytes play a crucial role in inflammation, but their possible implication in fibrosis remains to be explored. In this study, we examined the involvement of these cells in a mouse model of lung inflammation and fibrosis induced by silica particles. Upregulation of IL-17A was associated with the development of experimental silicosis, but this response was markedly reduced in athymic, γδ T cell-deficient or CD4+ T cell-depleted mice. In addition, γδ T lymphocytes and CD4+ T cells, but not macrophages, neutrophils, NK cells or CD8 T cells, purified from the lungs of silicotic mice markedly expressed IL-17A. Depletion of alveolar macrophages or neutralization of IL-23 reduced upregulation of IL-17A in the lung of silicotic mice. IL-17R–deficient animals (IL-17R−/−) or IL-17A Ab neutralization, but not IL-22−/− mice, developed reduced neutrophil influx and injury during the early lung response to silica. However, chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and TGF-β expression induced by silica were not attenuated in the absence of IL-17R or -22 or after IL-17A Ab blockade. In conclusion, a rapid lung recruitment of IL-17A–producing T cells, mediated by macrophage-derived IL-23, is associated with experimental silicosis in mice. Although the acute alveolitis induced by silica is IL-17A dependent, this cytokine appears dispensable for the development of the late inflammatory and fibrotic lung responses to silica.