Diacylglycerol kinase zeta deficiency attenuates papain-induced type 2 airway inflammation

Allergic airway diseases are caused by inappropriate immune responses directed against inhaled environmental antigens. We previously reported that the inhibition of diacylglycerol (DAG) kinase zeta (DGK zeta), an enzyme that terminates DAG-mediated signaling, protects against T cell-mediated allergic airway inflammation by blocking Th2 cell differentiation. In this study, we tested whether DGK zeta deficiency also affects allergic airway disease mediated by type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2)s. DGK zeta-deficient mice displayed diminished ILC2 function and reduced papain-induced airway inflammation compared to wildtype mice. Unexpectedly, however, mice with hematopoietic cell-specific deletion of DGK zeta displayed intact airway inflammation upon papain challenge. Rather, bone marrow chimera studies revealed that DGK zeta deficiency in the non-hematopoietic compartment was responsible for the reduction in papain-induced airway inflammation. These data suggest that DGK might represent a novel therapeutic target not only for T cell-dependent but also ILC2-dependent allergic airway inflammation by affecting non-hematopoietic cells.