Deng Zheng, Song Tongtong, Ding Wenbin, Luo Wei, Xie Jiaxing, Wu Haodong, Zhong Nanshan, Lai Kefang
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University Guangzhou China.
Guangzhou National Laboratory Guangzhou China.
MedComm (2020). 2025 Aug 24;6(9):e70340. doi: 10.1002/mco2.70340. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Postinfectious subacute cough (PISC) and postinfectious chronic cough (PICC) are triggered by respiratory infections, which induce adaptive immunity. The expression of T-lymphocyte subsets and cytokine signatures remains elusive in these patients. Here, we recruited 40 healthy controls, 64 PICC patients, 65 PISC patients, and 20 recovered individuals with postinfectious subacute cough (R-PISC). As cough and airway inflammation resolved in R-PISC subjects, sputum lymphocytes dropped substantially. Both PICC and PISC patients had an increase in blood activated interferon-γ (IFN-γ) T-lymphocytes, which were decreased in R-PISC subjects. Elevated cough sensitivity, higher proportions of activated IFN-γ T-lymphocytes, and CD8/CD4 T-lymphocyte ratios, as well as elevated concentrations of uric acid, IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IFN-α, IFN-β, and interleukin-10 in sputa, were observed in PICC and PISC patients but normalized in R-PISC subjects. Correlation analyses and logistic regression models identified activated IFN-γ T-lymphocytes and these cytokines in sputa as biomarkers for predicting cough risk. PICC patients exhibited greater cough severity, elevated activated IFN-γ T-lymphocytes, and TNF-α concentrations in sputa compared to PISC patients. Overall, postinfectious cough patients exhibit airway inflammatory signatures characterized by activated IFN-γ T-lymphocytes and elevated levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IFN-α, IFN-β, and interleukin-10, which are valuable for effective treatment options.
感染后亚急性咳嗽（PISC）和感染后慢性咳嗽（PICC）由呼吸道感染引发，这些感染会诱导适应性免疫。在这些患者中，T淋巴细胞亚群的表达和细胞因子特征仍不明确。在此，我们招募了40名健康对照者、64名PICC患者、65名PISC患者以及20名感染后亚急性咳嗽康复个体（R-PISC）。随着R-PISC受试者咳嗽和气道炎症的缓解，痰液淋巴细胞大幅减少。PICC和PISC患者血液中活化的干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）T淋巴细胞均增加，而在R-PISC受试者中则减少。在PICC和PISC患者中观察到咳嗽敏感性升高、活化的IFN-γ T淋巴细胞比例及CD8/CD4 T淋巴细胞比值升高，痰液中尿酸、IFN-γ、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、IFN-α、IFN-β和白细胞介素-10浓度升高，但在R-PISC受试者中恢复正常。相关性分析和逻辑回归模型确定痰液中的活化IFN-γ T淋巴细胞和这些细胞因子为预测咳嗽风险的生物标志物。与PISC患者相比，PICC患者咳嗽严重程度更高，痰液中活化的IFN-γ T淋巴细胞和TNF-α浓度更高。总体而言，感染后咳嗽患者表现出以活化的IFN-γ T淋巴细胞及IFN-γ、TNF-α、IFN-α、IFN-β和白细胞介素-10水平升高为特征的气道炎症特征，这对有效的治疗方案具有重要意义。
