Greer Alexandra M, Matthay Michael A, Kukreja Jasleen, Bhakta Nirav R, Nguyen Christine P, Wolters Paul J, Woodruff Prescott G, Fahy John V, Shin Jeoung-Sook
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Sandler Asthma Basic Research Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
Department of Medicine and Anesthesia, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2014 Jun 10;9(6):e99084. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099084. eCollection 2014.
Dendritic cells (DCs) significantly contribute to the pathology of several mouse lung disease models. However, little is known of the contribution of DCs to human lung diseases. In this study, we examined infiltration with BDCA1⁺ DCs of human lungs in patients with interstitial lung diseases or asthma. Using flow cytometry, we found that these DCs increased by 5∼6 fold in the lungs of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which are both characterized by extensive fibrosis in parenchyma. The same DC subset also significantly increased in the lung parenchyma of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, although the degree of increase was relatively modest. By employing immunofluorescence microscopy using FcεRI and MHCII as the specific markers for BDCA1⁺ DCs, we found that the numbers of BDCA1⁺ DCs also significantly increased in the airway epithelium of Th2 inflammation-associated asthma. These findings suggest a potential contribution of BDCA1⁺ DCs in human lung diseases associated with interstitial fibrosis or Th2 airway inflammation.
树突状细胞（DCs）在多种小鼠肺部疾病模型的病理过程中发挥着重要作用。然而，关于DCs对人类肺部疾病的作用，我们了解甚少。在本研究中，我们检测了间质性肺疾病或哮喘患者肺组织中BDCA1⁺ DCs的浸润情况。通过流式细胞术，我们发现，在以实质广泛纤维化为特征的特发性肺纤维化或过敏性肺炎患者的肺组织中，这些DCs增加了5至6倍。在慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者的肺实质中，同一DC亚群也显著增加，尽管增加程度相对较小。通过使用FcεRI和MHCII作为BDCA1⁺ DCs的特异性标志物进行免疫荧光显微镜检查，我们发现，在与Th2炎症相关的哮喘患者的气道上皮中，BDCA1⁺ DCs的数量也显著增加。这些发现表明，BDCA1⁺ DCs在与间质性纤维化或Th2气道炎症相关的人类肺部疾病中可能发挥作用。
