Pulito-Cueto Verónica, Remuzgo-Martínez Sara, Genre Fernanda, Atienza-Mateo Belén, Mora-Cuesta Víctor M, Iturbe-Fernández David, Lera-Gómez Leticia, Rodriguez-Carrio Javier, Prieto-Peña Diana, Portilla Virginia, Blanco Ricardo, Corrales Alfonso, Gualillo Oreste, Cifrián José M, López-Mejías Raquel, González-Gay Miguel A
Research Group on Genetic Epidemiology and Atherosclerosis in Systemic Diseases and in Metabolic Bone Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System, IDIVAL, 39011 Santander, Spain.
Department of Rheumatology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, 39008 Santander, Spain.
Biomedicines. 2022 Apr 5;10(4):851. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10040851.
(1) Background: We explored, for the first time, the contribution of angiogenic T cells (TAng) in interstitial lung disease associated to autoimmune disease (AD-ILD) as potential biomarkers of the disease, evaluating their role in the underlying vasculopathy and lung fibrosis. Additionally, the relationship of TAng with clinical manifestations and cellular and molecular endothelial dysfunction-related biomarkers was assessed. (2) Methods: We included 57 AD-ILD patients (21 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-ILD, 21 with systemic sclerosis (SSc)-ILD and 15 with other AD-ILD) and three comparative groups: 45 AD-ILD patients (25 RA-ILD and 20 SSc-ILD); 21 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients; 21 healthy controls (HC). TAng were considered as CD3CD184CD31 by flow cytometry. (3) Results: A similar TAng frequency was found between AD-ILD and IPF, being in both cases lower than that observed in AD-ILD and HC. A lower TAng frequency was associated with negative Scl-70 status and lower FEV1/FVC ratio in SSc-ILD, as well as with men in RA-ILD and non-specific interstitial pneumonia radiological pattern in other AD-ILD. No relationship between TAng and endothelial progenitor cells, endothelial cells and vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression and protein levels was disclosed. (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest TAng as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of ILD in AD.
（1）背景：我们首次探究了血管生成性T细胞（TAng）在自身免疫性疾病相关间质性肺病（AD-ILD）中作为该疾病潜在生物标志物的作用，评估它们在潜在血管病变和肺纤维化中的作用。此外，还评估了TAng与临床表现以及细胞和分子水平上与内皮功能障碍相关生物标志物之间的关系。（2）方法：我们纳入了57例AD-ILD患者（21例类风湿关节炎（RA）-ILD患者、21例系统性硬化症（SSc）-ILD患者和15例其他AD-ILD患者）以及三个对照组：45例AD-ILD患者（25例RA-ILD患者和20例SSc-ILD患者）；21例特发性肺纤维化（IPF）患者；21例健康对照（HC）。通过流式细胞术将TAng视为CD3⁺CD184⁺CD31⁺。（3）结果：在AD-ILD和IPF患者中发现TAng频率相似，且在这两种情况下均低于AD-ILD患者和HC中的观察值。在SSc-ILD中，较低的TAng频率与Scl-70阴性状态和较低的FEV1/FVC比值相关，在RA-ILD中与男性相关，在其他AD-ILD中与非特异性间质性肺炎放射学模式相关。未发现TAng与内皮祖细胞、内皮细胞以及血管内皮生长因子基因表达和蛋白水平之间存在关联。（4）结论：我们的研究结果表明TAng可能是AD中ILD早期诊断的潜在生物标志物。
