{
  "abstract": "Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are known to orchestrate cell-cell communication, but the role of sEV signaling via mitochondria in perpetuating asthmatic airway inflammation is unknown. Myeloid-derived regulatory cells (MDRCs) are known to control CD4+ T cell responses in asthma. We demonstrate that airway MDRC-derived sEVs from asthmatics mediate T cell receptor engagement and transfer of mitochondria that induce antigen-specific activation and polarization of Th17 and Th2 cells; these cells are drivers of chronic airway inflammation in asthma. CD4+ T cells internalize sEVs containing mitochondria predominantly by membrane fusion, and blocking mitochondrial oxidant signaling in MDRC-derived sEVs mitigates T cell activation. Reactive oxygen species-mediated signaling that elicits T cell activation in asthmatics is sEV-dependent. Additionally, a Drp1-dependent mechanism in pro-inflammatory MDRCs promotes mitochondrial packaging within sEVs, which then co-localize with the polarized cytoskeleton and mitochondrial networks in recipient T cells. Importantly, intranasal transfer of mitochondria packaged sEVs enhances airway inflammation and Th polarization in vivo in a murine model of asthma. Thus, our studies indicate a previously unrecognized role for mitochondrial fission and sEV-mediated mitochondrial transfer-mediated signaling in dysregulated T cell activation and Th cell polarization in asthma which could constitute a novel therapeutic target.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA",
    "Mitochondrial Medicine Laboratory, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA",
    "Department of Histology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland",
    "Division of Global and Rural Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA",
    "Department of Cellular Biology & Anatomy, LSUHS, LSU Health, Shreveport, LA, USA",
    "Department of Dermatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA",
    "Department of Biology, Ashoka University, National Capital Region-Delhi, India",
    "Department of Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA",
    "Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine and the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, New Orleans, LA, USA",
    "Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine and Center for Molecular Medicine, The Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden",
    "Division of Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden",
    "Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. treena@uab.edu"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 29,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kenneth P. Hough",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8446-0084"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jennifer L. Trevor",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6072-6274"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shaheer Ahmad"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yong Wang",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7516-9271"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Balu K. Chacko",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7370-8315"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kayla F. Goliwas",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6930-6636"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "John G. Strenkowski"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuelong Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        0
      ],
      "name": "Joanna I. Nowak",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3121-9561"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Eugene Becker",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9704-5958"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        0
      ],
      "name": "Young-il Kim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Renita Holmes"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nathaniel B. Bone"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shia Vang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2971-3560"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "A Hassan D I Pritchard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jay Chin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sandeep Bodduluri",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8201-5262"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Veena B. Antony",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2326-352X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sultan Tousif",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6174-6541"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Mohammad Athar",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5829-7992"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Diptiman Chanda",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4835-4460"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Kasturi Mitra",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3718-7094"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jaroslaw W. Zmijewski",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7314-6164"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jianhua Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2128-9574"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Steven R. Duncan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8655-9072"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Victor John Thannickal",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4266-8677"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Susanne Gabrielsson",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1771-1346"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Victor M. Darley-Usmar",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8921-7086"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Jessy S. Deshane",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6761-5662"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b7a68akrbfgqm.bib",
  "cited_by": 8,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-73684-y",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "b7a68akrbfgqm",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73684-y",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
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      "openalex",
      "1312|Extracellular vesicles in disease"
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  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73684-y_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC11092649",
  "pmid": "38746361",
  "published": "2026-05-26",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b7a68akrbfgqm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:48Z",
      "native_id": "W7162325231",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73684-y"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Extracellular vesicles in disease",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Small extracellular vesicle signaling and mitochondrial transfer reprogram T helper cell function in human asthma",
  "title_text": "Small extracellular vesicle signaling and mitochondrial transfer reprogram T helper cell function in human asthma",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T13:20:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b7a68akrbfgqm",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}