Myeloid Hif1alpha counteracts allergic airway sensitization in mice through macrophage-mediated immunoregulation

Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF) has important roles in promoting pro-inflammatory and bactericidal functions in myeloid cells. Conditional genetic ablation of its major subunit Hif1alpha in the myeloid lineage consequently results in decreased inflammatory responses in classical models of acute inflammation in mice. In contrast, we observed that mice conditionally deficient for Hif1alpha in myeloid cells display enhanced sensitivity to the development of airway allergy to the experimental allergen ovalbumin as well as to house dust mite antigens. Following allergen exposure, these mice indeed developed enhanced allergen-specific T cell responses due to augmented activation of lung dendritic cells. Further analyses supported the idea that upon allergen exposure, MyD88-dependent upregulation of Hif1alpha boosts the expression of the immunosuppressive cytokine Interleukin (IL)-10 by lung interstitial macrophages. Interstitial macrophage-derived IL-10 in turn counteracts allergen-induced lung dendritic cell activation, consequently preventing the development of allergen-specific T cell responses. Thus, this study supports that, in addition to its known pro-inflammatory activities, myeloid Hif1alpha possesses immunoregulatory functions implicated in the prevention of airway allergy.