Association of a new-type prostaglandin D2 receptor CRTH2 with circulating T helper 2 cells in patients with atopic dermatitis

Prostaglandin D-2 is known to be the major prostanoid produced by allergen-activated mast cells, but its role in the formation of allergic diseases is not well established because of complexity of its receptor system and lack of appropriate inhibitors. We have recently identified a new-type prostaglandin D2 receptor, named CRTH2. Studies with normal subjects have shown that CRTH2 appears to be selectively expressed by T helper 2 cells but not T helper 1 cells among circulating CD4(+) lymphocytes. The exact correlation between CRTH2 and T helper 2 cells in various disease settings and the impact of CRTH2-mediated prostaglandin D-2 activities on various T helper 2 responses in vivo still remain to be elucidated, however. In this study, we investigated the correlation between CRTH2 and T helper 2 cells among circulating CD4+ lymphocytes in normal adults and patients with atopic dermatitis, a T-helper-2-involving disease. The results showed that virtually all CRTH2(+)CD4(+) lymphocytes had a pure T helper 2 phenotype and formed not all but a large proportion of circulating T helper 2 cells for both normal and atopic dermatitis subjects. In chemotaxis assays, peripheral blood CRTH2(+)CD4(+) lymphocytes were significantly attracted by prostaglandin D2 as well as by a typical T-helper-2-attracting chemokine, thymus and activation regulated chemokine, whereas they showed little chemotactic migration toward typical T-helper-1-attracting chemokines, macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta and interferon-gamma inducible protein 10. Furthermore, in atopic dermatitis patients, a preferential increase of CRTH2(+) cells was noted within the disease-related cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen-positive, but not the cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen-negative, CD4(+) lymphocyte compartment. Our results suggest the involvement of the prostaglandin D-2/CRTH2 system in both normal and pathogenic T helper 2 responses.