title: Circulating CD14+ CD16+ monocytes are expanded in sarcoidosis patients.
abstract: Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease of unknown etiology characterized by noncaseating granulomas, consisting mainly of epithelioid cells and multinucleated giant cells derived from monocyte-macrophage lineage cells. Monocytes fall into subpopulations comprising CD14++ CD16-, and CD14+ CD16+ cells, and expansion of the later monocytes has been reported under some pathological conditions. In this study, we examined the immunophenotype of blood monocytes in patients with sarcoidosis using two-color immunofluorescence flow cytometry. In healthy controls CD14+ CD16+ monocytes account for 5.8 +/- 2.8% of monocytes. The percentage of CD14+ CD16+ monocytes was significantly higher (p <0.02) in the sarcoidosis patients (11.8 +/- 4.9%) compared with those in healthy control subjects. The serum ACE levels were significantly correlated with the percentage of CD14+ CD16+ monocytes (p <0.05). In contrast, the percentage was not correlated with purinergic receptor expression of monocytes as estimated by LDH release from BzATP-stimulated monocytes. These findings suggest that CD14+ CD16+ monocytes represent a sensitive marker for the disease activity of sarcoidosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kansai Medical University, 10-15 Fumizono, Moriguchi, Osaka 570-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D011336:Probability; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; D017452:Receptors, IgG