Thymic stromal lymphopoietin induces adipose loss through sebum hypersecretion

INTRODUCTION

Obesity and its associated complications are serious global concerns. Despite growing public health initiatives, obesity rates continue to rise. Thus, there is a critical need to identify pathways that affect adiposity. Recent studies indicate that the immune system can regulate adipose tissue and its metabolic function. Type 2 immune cells, such as type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and eosinophils, increase the metabolic rate, whereas regulatory T cells (T_reg cells) promote insulin sensitivity.

RATIONALE

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an epithelial cell cytokine that is expressed at barrier sites such as the skin, lung, and gut. Because TSLP has been shown to activate type 2 immune cells and expand T_reg cells, we hypothesized that TSLP could counteract obesity and its associated complications.

RESULTS

The effect of TSLP on obesity was tested by administering a Tslp-expressing adeno-associated virus serotype 8 (TSLP-AAV) to mice. Compared with mice administered control-AAV, mice given TSLP-AAV displayed selective white adipose tissue (WAT) loss, which protected against diet-induced and genetic models of obesity, insulin resistance, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Unexpectedly, TSLP-induced WAT loss was not dependent on ILC2s, eosinophils, or T_reg cells. Rather, it resulted from direct activation of either CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ αβ T cell receptor (TCRαβ) T cells by TSLP in an antigen-independent manner. The adoptive transfer of T cells from the lymph nodes of TSLP-AAV–injected mice also caused WAT loss in TSLP receptor–deficient (Tslpr^–/–) mice, suggesting that TSLP-stimulated T cells retain their ability to induce WAT loss.

TSLP-induced WAT loss was not associated with decreased food intake, increased fecal caloric excretion, or increased energy metabolism. Instead, the WAT loss was associated with a notable greasy hair appearance. Thin-layer chromatography analysis of extracted hair lipids from TSLP-AAV–injected mice showed that the oleaginous substance was enriched for sebum-specific lipids. Sebum is a calorically dense substance produced by sebocytes in sebaceous glands (SGs) and helps form both the physical and immune-protective skin barrier. Skin histological analysis showed that TSLP promoted sebum secretion and turnover of sebocytes. Sebum hypersecretion was responsible for TSLP-induced WAT loss because TSLP did not induce WAT loss in asebia mice, which harbor hypomorphic SGs. TSLP also induced the migration of T cells to SGs, which was required for the enhanced sebum secretion. Inhibition of T cell migration prevented TSLP-induced sebum hypersecretion and subsequent WAT loss.

At homeostasis, TSLP and T cells controlled steady-state sebum secretion. Both Tslpr^–/– and T cell–deficient mice exhibited decreased sebum secretion at baseline. Many of the fatty acids within sebum have bactericidal properties, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are also secreted as part of sebum for barrier protection. Accordingly, Tslpr^–/– mice expressed lower levels of sebum-associated AMPs in the skin, suggesting that endogenous TSLP plays a role in skin barrier function. This TSLP-sebum axis was also applicable to humans because the expression of TSLP and sebum-associated genes were positively correlated in skin samples from healthy individuals.

CONCLUSION

Our findings support a model in which TSLP overexpression causes WAT loss by inducing skin T cell migration and increasing sebum hypersecretion. Additionally, TSLP and T cells homeostatically regulate sebum production and skin AMP expression, highlighting an unexpected role for the adaptive immune system in the maintenance of skin barrier function.