Influenza-induced tuft cell expansion alters ILC-mediated inflammation [immune]

Although normally absent from the distal lung, ectopic tuft cells form after severe lung injury including influenza infection in mice. Here, we investigated the function of these ectopic tuft cells in shaping innate immunity following influenza injury.

We observed that IFNγ restrains tuft cell differentiation, whereas ILC2s drive tuft cell expansion, establishing a reciprocal regulatory axis. Tuft cell–deficient mice exhibited reduced eosinophilic inflammation and expansion of ILC1s and ILC3s after influenza injury resolution. Single-cell RNA-seq of influenza infected whole lung revealed transcriptional signatures consistent with type 1 pathway activation, type 2 suppression and oxidative stress.