CD8⁺ T Cell Subsets and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

COPD is a debilitating and progressive condition in which the airways become irreversibly obstructed and the lungs progressively damaged. Unlike asthma, we know little about the cells that initiate and drive this process. Research has shown that CD8(+) T cells are overrepresented in the lungs of patients with COPD and that they are inversely related to lung function. However, not all CD8(+) T cells are alike and subsets that make IFN-gamma but not IL-4 (Tc1), IL-4 but not IFN-gamma (Tc2) as well as those that make both (Tc0) have been described. This article focuses on the characteristics of CD8(+) T cell subsets and considers their potential contribution to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Kemeny DM, Vyas B, Vukmanovic-Stejic M, Thomas M, Noble A, Loh LC, O'Connor BJ. CD8(+) T cell subsets and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Corticosteroids enhance CD8+ T cell–mediated airway hyperresponsiveness and allergic inflammation by upregulating leukotriene B4 receptor 1

“…49 Moreover, LTB 4 is also implicated in the pathogenesis of COPD. 50 Therefore BLT1-expressing CD8 1 T cells might contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD, and the proposed mechanism might provide a reason why COPD is resistant to corticosteroid treatment, although these assumptions remain to be defined.…”

Functional and Genetic Analysis of Two CD8 T Cell Subsets Defined by the Level of CD45RC Expression in the Rat

“…Tc1 cells, are defined as CD8 T cells that secrete IFN-␥, but not IL-4, IL-5, or IL-10; Tc2 cells are CD8 T cells that secrete IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10, but not IFN-␥. There is substantial evidence that these CD8 T cell subsets also exist in vivo and that the polarized pattern of secreted cytokines may influence the nature of the resulting immune responses (13,20,(31)(32)(33)(34)(35). According to the cytokine profile observed in CD45RC CD8 T cell subsets, the CD45RC low cells are Tc2-like, while the CD45RC high cells are Tc1-like.…”

Serielle Kaltwasserreize (Kneipp’scher Oberguss) bei Patienten mit chronisch obstruktiver Bronchitis (COPD)

“…Zelluläre Mechanismen: Lange Zeit wurde Neutrophilen und Makrophagen eine wesentliche Rolle bei der Pathogenese der COPD zugeschrieben [1]; neuere Untersuchungen zeigen jedoch, dass den CD8 + T-Zellen besondere Bedeutung zukommt. CD8 + -T-Lymphozyten sind in der Lage, verschiedene Zytokine zu exprimieren und zu sezernieren, zu denen neben IFN-γ auch IL-4 und IL-5 gehören [16]. Dabei scheinen IL-4-exprimierende CD8 + T-Zellen (Tc2) bei moderater bis schwerer COPD zu expandieren.…”