title: Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cell Deficiency in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
abstract: Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells have been reported to play an important role in mucosal immunity. However, little is known about the roles of MAIT cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aims of this study were to examine the levels of circulating MAIT cells and their subsets in COPD patients and to investigate the potential relationship between clinical parameters and MAIT cell levels. Forty-five COPD patients and 57 healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study. Circulating MAIT cells and their subset levels in the peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry. Disease grades were classified according to the GOLD criteria for the assessment of severity of COPD. Circulating MAIT cell levels were found to be significantly reduced in COPD patients. In particular, this MAIT cell deficiency was more prominent in CD8+ and double-negative T cell subsets. Interestingly, elevated serum C-reactive protein level and reduced FEV1/FVC ratio were associated with MAIT cell deficiency in COPD patients. Furthermore, the circulating MAIT levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with moderate to severe COPD than in patients with mild COPD. Our data shows that MAIT cells are numerically deficient in the peripheral blood of patients with COPD. In addition, this MAIT cell deficiency was found to reflect inflammatory activity and disease severity. These findings provide important information for monitoring the changes in MAIT cell levels and for predicting the prognosis during the disease course.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Nan
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Moon-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Hwa
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ki-Jeong
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: c Heart Research Center , Chonnam National University Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kee
authors.affiliation: d Department of Laboratory Medicine , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kee
authors.affiliation: b Department of Rheumatology , Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital , Gwangju , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072336:Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: C-reactive protein; FEV1/FVC; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; disease severity; mucosal-associated invariant T cells