van Zelst Cathelijne M, In 't Veen Johannes C C M, Krabbendam Lisette, de Boer Geertje M, de Bruijn Marjolein J W, van Nimwegen Menno, van der Ploeg Esmee K, van Uden Denise, Stadhouders Ralph, Tramper-Stranders Gerdien A, Hendriks Rudi W, Braunstahl Gert-Jan
Department of Pulmonology, Franciscus Gasthuis and Vlietland, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
ERJ Open Res. 2024 Feb 19;10(1). doi: 10.1183/23120541.00652-2023. eCollection 2024 Jan.
Distinguishing asthma and COPD can pose challenges in clinical practice. Increased group 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1s) have been found in the lungs and peripheral blood of COPD patients, while asthma is associated with elevated levels of ILC2s. However, it is unclear whether the inflammatory characteristics of ILC1s and ILC2s differ between COPD and asthma. This study aims to compare peripheral blood ILC subsets and their expression of inflammatory markers in COPD patients, asthma patients and controls.
The study utilised multi-colour flow cytometry to analyse peripheral blood ILC populations in clinically stable COPD patients (n=38), asthma patients (n=37), and smoking (n=19) and non-smoking (n=16) controls.
Proportions of peripheral blood inflammatory CD4 ILC1s were significantly higher in COPD patients than in asthma. Proportions of CD4 ILC1s were increased in COPD patients compared to asthma patients and smoking controls. Frequencies of CD117 ILC2s were significantly reduced in COPD patients compared with asthma patients. In contrast, the fraction of inflammatory CD45RO cells within the CD117 ILC2 population was significantly increased. Principal component analyses showed that combined features of the circulating ILC compartment separated COPD patients from asthma patients and both control groups.
Our in-depth characterisation of ILC1 and ILC2 populations in peripheral blood revealed significant differences in their phenotypes between COPD and asthma patients and smoking or non-smoking controls. These findings suggest a role for both ILC subsets in COPD disease pathology, independent of smoking history, and may have implications for patient stratification and therapy development.
在临床实践中，区分哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）可能具有挑战性。在COPD患者的肺部和外周血中发现1型固有淋巴细胞（ILC1s）增多，而哮喘与ILC2s水平升高有关。然而，尚不清楚COPD和哮喘之间ILC1s和ILC2s的炎症特征是否存在差异。本研究旨在比较COPD患者、哮喘患者和对照组外周血中的ILC亚群及其炎症标志物的表达。
本研究采用多色流式细胞术分析临床稳定的COPD患者（n = 38）、哮喘患者（n = 37）以及吸烟（n = 19）和非吸烟（n = 16）对照组的外周血ILC群体。
COPD患者外周血中炎性CD4 ILC1s的比例显著高于哮喘患者。与哮喘患者和吸烟对照组相比，COPD患者中CD4 ILC1s的比例增加。与哮喘患者相比，COPD患者中CD117 ILC2s的频率显著降低。相反，CD117 ILC2群体中炎性CD45RO细胞的比例显著增加。主成分分析表明，循环ILC区室的综合特征将COPD患者与哮喘患者及两个对照组区分开来。
我们对外周血中ILC1和ILC2群体的深入表征揭示了COPD和哮喘患者以及吸烟或非吸烟对照组之间其表型存在显著差异。这些发现表明这两种ILC亚群在COPD疾病病理中均发挥作用，且独立于吸烟史，可能对患者分层和治疗方案的制定具有重要意义。
