Elsevier

Respiratory Medicine

Volume 105, Issue 11, November 2011, Pages 1648-1654
Respiratory Medicine

Increase of Th17 cells in peripheral blood of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2011.05.017Get rights and content
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Summary

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disorder characterized by an inflammatory response to cigarette smoke. A disorder in immune regulation contributing to the pathogenesis of COPD has been suggested, however, little is known about the involvement of CD4 + T cells. To determine the distribution of different CD4+ T cell subsets in patients with COPD, current smokers without COPD (CS) and healthy subjects (HS), and its correlation with pulmonary function.

Methods

Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg, subsets, were quantified by flow cytometry in peripheral blood (PB) of 39 patients with COPD, 14 CS and 15 HS. Correlations were assessed with Spearman’s rank test. The association between Th17 and lung function was evaluated with a multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

An increase of Th17 cells (median 9.7% range 0.8–22.5%) was observed in patients with COPD compared with CS (median 2.8% range 0.8–10.6) and HS (median 0.6% range 0.4–1%, p < 0.0001). Th1 and Tregs subsets were also increased in COPD and CS compared to HS. Inverse correlations were found between Th17 with FEV1%p r = −0.57 and with FEV1/FVC r = −0.60, (p < 0.0001 for both comparison). In addition, increase of Th17 predicted the presence [OR 1.76 (CI 95% 1.25–2.49, p = 0.001)] and severity of airflow limitation [OR 1.13 (CI95% 1.02–1.25, p = 0.02)].

Conclusions

The increase of Th17 response and the lost of balance between CD4+ T cell subsets, suggest a lack of regulation of the systemic inflammatory response that may contribute to pathogenesis in COPD patients.

Keywords

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
T-lymphocyte subsets
Th17 cells
Pathogenesis

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