Trinity Health Kidney Centre, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Dublin, Ireland.
Department of Immunology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Clin Exp Immunol. 2018 Feb;191(2):180-188. doi: 10.1111/cei.13058. Epub 2017 Oct 20.
Innate lymphocyte populations, such as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), γδ T cells, invariant natural killer T (iNK T) cells and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are emerging as important effectors of innate immunity and are involved in various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the frequencies and absolute numbers of innate lymphocytes as well as conventional lymphocytes and monocytes in peripheral blood from a cohort of anti-neutrophil cytoplasm autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients. Thirty-eight AAV patients and 24 healthy and disease controls were included in the study. Patients with AAV were sampled both with and without immunosuppressive treatment, and in the setting of both active disease and remission. The frequencies of MAIT and ILC2 cells were significantly lower in patients with AAV and in the disease control group compared to healthy controls. These reductions in the AAV patients remained during remission. B cell count and frequencies were significantly lower in AAV in remission compared to patients with active disease and disease controls. Despite the strong T helper type 2 (Th) preponderance of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, we did not observe increased ILC2 frequency in this cohort of patients. The frequencies of other cell types were similar in all groups studied. Reductions in circulating ILC2 and MAIT cells reported previously in patients with AAV are not specific for AAV, but are more likely to be due to non-specific manifestations of renal impairment and chronic illness. Reduction in B cell numbers in AAV patients experiencing remission is probably therapy-related.
固有淋巴细胞群体，如固有淋巴样细胞（ILC）、γδ T 细胞、恒定自然杀伤 T（iNK T）细胞和黏膜相关恒定 T（MAIT）细胞，作为固有免疫的重要效应物而出现，并参与各种炎症和自身免疫性疾病。本研究旨在评估抗中性粒细胞胞质抗体（ANCA）相关性血管炎（AAV）患者外周血中固有淋巴细胞以及常规淋巴细胞和单核细胞的频率和绝对数量。研究纳入了 38 名 AAV 患者和 24 名健康和疾病对照者。AAV 患者在接受免疫抑制治疗前后、疾病活动期和缓解期均进行了采样。与健康对照组相比，AAV 患者和疾病对照组中 MAIT 和 ILC2 细胞的频率显著降低。在缓解期，AAV 患者的这些减少仍然存在。与活动期疾病患者和疾病对照组相比，缓解期 AAV 患者的 B 细胞计数和频率显著降低。尽管嗜酸性肉芽肿伴多血管炎具有强烈的辅助性 T 细胞 2（Th2）优势，但我们在本队列患者中未观察到 ILC2 频率增加。所有研究组的其他细胞类型频率相似。以前报道的 AAV 患者循环 ILC2 和 MAIT 细胞减少并非 AAV 特异性，更可能是由于肾功能不全和慢性疾病的非特异性表现所致。缓解期 AAV 患者 B 细胞数量减少可能与治疗有关。
