Jagged-1+ skin Tregs modulate cutaneous wound healing

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-09, Vol.14 (1), p.20999-12, Article 20999
• Main Authors: Lui, Prudence PokWai, Xu, Jessie Z., Aziz, Hafsah, Sen, Monica, Ali, Niwa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/250/1619/554/1898/1271; 631/250/256; Animals; CD4 antigen; CD8 antigen; Cell activation; Hair; Homeostasis; Humanities and Social Sciences; Immunoregulation; Jagged-1 Protein - genetics; Jagged-1 Protein - metabolism; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Lymphocytes T; Macrophages; Mice; multidisciplinary; Receptors, Notch - metabolism; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Signal Transduction; Skin; Skin - immunology; Skin - metabolism; Stem cells; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - metabolism; Wound healing; Wound Healing - immunology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-71512-1

Skin-resident regulatory T cells (Tregs) play an irreplaceable role in orchestrating cutaneous immune homeostasis and repair, including the promotion of hair regeneration via the Notch signaling ligand Jagged-1 (Jag1). While skin Tregs are indispensable for facilitating tissue repair post-wounding, it remains unknown if Jag1-expressing skin Tregs impact wound healing. Using a tamoxifen inducible Foxp3 creERT2 Jag1 fl/fl model, we show that loss of functional Jag1 in Tregs significantly delays the rate of full-thickness wound closure. Unlike in hair regeneration, skin Tregs do not utilize Jag1 to impact epithelial stem cells during wound healing. Instead, mice with Treg-specific Jag1 ablation exhibit a significant reduction in Ly6G + neutrophil accumulation at the wound site. However, during both homeostasis and wound healing, the loss of Jag1 in Tregs does not impact the overall abundance or activation profile of immune cell targets in the skin, such as CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, or pro-inflammatory macrophages. This collectively suggests that skin Tregs may utilize Jag1-Notch signalling to co-ordinate innate cell recruitment under conditions of injury but not homeostasis. Overall, our study demonstrates the importance of Jag1 expression in Tregs to facilitate adequate wound repair in the skin.