High-Dimensional Immune Profiling by Mass Cytometry Revealed the Circulating Immune Cell Landscape in Patients With Intracranial Aneurysm.

BACKGROUND

Increasing evidence supports a critical role of chronic inflammation in intracranial aneurysm (IA). Understanding how the immunological alterations in IA provides opportunities for targeted treatment. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and detailed characterization of the changes in circulating immune cells in IA.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a comprehensive and detailed characterization of the changes in circulating immune cells in patients with IA.

METHODS

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples from IA patients (n = 26) and age-and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs, n = 20) were analyzed using high dimensional mass cytometry, and the frequency and phenotype of immune cell subtypes were assessed.

RESULTS

We identified 28 cell clusters and found that the immune signature of IA consists of cluster changes. IA patients exhibited dysfunction of immunity, with dysregulation of CD4 T-cell clusters, increased B cells and monocytes, and decreased CD8 T cells, DNT cells, and DPT cells. Moreover, compared with findings in HC, IA was associated with enhanced lymphocyte and monocyte immune activation, with a higher expression of HLA-DR, CXCR3, and CX3CR1. In addition, the expression of TLR4, p-STAT3, and the exhaustion marker PD1 was increased in T cells, B cells, and NK cells in IA patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data provide an overview of the circulating immune cell landscape of IA patients, and reveal that the dysfunction of circulating immunity may play a potential role in the development of IA.