Xu Huihui, Li Teng, Zhang Xiaoming, Li Hongqiang, Lv Diyu, Wang Yiyuan, Huo Fangjie, Bai Jianwen, Wang Chunmei
Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, People's Republic of China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100000, People's Republic of China.
J Inflamm Res. 2022 Sep 13;15:5293-5308. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S376962. eCollection 2022.
Sepsis is a condition that derives from a dysregulated host response to infection. Although B lymphocytes play a pivotal role in immune response, little is known about status of their terminally differentiated cells, antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) during immunosuppressive phase of sepsis, especially in elderly patients. Our aim was to extensively characterize the immune functions of ASCs in elderly septic patients.
Clinical and laboratory data were collected on days 1, 3, and 7 of hospitalization. Circulating ASCs were evaluated by flow cytometry from fresh whole blood in elderly septic patients at the onset of disease. RNA sequencing analyzed ASCs gene expression profile. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and logistic regression predicted the survival rate of 28-day mortality.
A total of 103 septic patients were enrolled. The number and proportion of ASCs among total lymphocytes dramatically increased in septic patients, and RNA sequencing analysis showed that ASCs from septic patients exhibited a different gene expression profile. Furthermore, we found these ASCs could promote the function of T cells. Logistic regression analysis showed ASCs population was an independent outcome predictor in septic shock patients.
Our study revealed the complex nature of immune disorders in sepsis and identified circulating ASCs population as a useful biomarker for predicting mortality in elderly septic patients, which provided a novel clue to combat this severe disease.
脓毒症是一种由宿主对感染的反应失调引起的病症。虽然B淋巴细胞在免疫反应中起关键作用，但对于其终末分化细胞，即抗体分泌细胞（ASC）在脓毒症免疫抑制阶段的状态，尤其是在老年患者中的情况，人们了解甚少。我们的目的是全面表征老年脓毒症患者中ASC的免疫功能。
收集患者住院第1、3和7天的临床和实验室数据。通过流式细胞术对老年脓毒症患者发病时新鲜全血中的循环ASC进行评估。RNA测序分析ASC的基因表达谱。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析和逻辑回归预测28天死亡率的生存率。
共纳入103例脓毒症患者。脓毒症患者中ASC在总淋巴细胞中的数量和比例显著增加，RNA测序分析表明脓毒症患者的ASC呈现出不同的基因表达谱。此外，我们发现这些ASC可促进T细胞的功能。逻辑回归分析显示ASC群体是脓毒症休克患者的独立预后预测指标。
我们的研究揭示了脓毒症免疫紊乱的复杂性，并确定循环ASC群体是预测老年脓毒症患者死亡率的有用生物标志物，这为对抗这种严重疾病提供了新线索。
