Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell (Ilc2)-Deficient Mice Are Transcriptionally Constrained During Nippostrongylus brasiliensis Infection

Mouse models serve as a means of examining immune changes when genes of interest are knocked out (KO). One group of immune gene-producing cells that have been identified is type 2 innate lymphoid cells (Ilc2). These cells are involved in the production of Th2 equivalent immune responses and signal cytokine production during the resolution of <i>Nippostrongylus brasiliensis</i> parasite infection in mice lungs. However, many questions about Ilc2 activity in the gut remain. To study this, retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-related orphan receptor alpha (<i>RORα</i>)-deficient mice were infected with adult <i>N. brasiliensis</i> and arranged into four treatment groups. Ten days post-infection (dpi), mouse ileum tissue was extracted for RNA-Seq. The <i>RORα</i>-deficient mice showed little change in gene expression at 10 dpi (N = 51) when compared to the WT mice at 10 dpi (N = 915), displaying dysregulation within the mouse gut. Based on the results, the gene expression in the gut of Ilc2-deficient mice denoted that the inability to craft Ilc2 cells left the mice unable to mount classical helminth immune responses involving humoral, mast cell, and antibody Th2-driven reactions. Overall, the results showed the importance of Ilc2 in the gut during <i>N. brasiliensis</i> infections and the effect that the lack of these cells had on immunity.