%0 Journal Article
%T Phenotypes of regulatory T cells in different stages of COPD.
%A Alves LHV
%A Ito JT
%A Almeida FM
%A Oliveira LM
%A Stelmach R
%A Tibério LFLC
%A Sato MN
%A Lopes FDTQS
%J Int Immunopharmacol
%V 140
%N 0
%D 2024 Oct 25
%M 39083931
%F 5.714
%R 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112765
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Previous studies have shown that failure to control inflammatory processes mediated by regulatory T (Treg) cells contributes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development and progression. The activity of Treg cells depends on their phenotypic characteristics: resting Treg (rTreg, CD3+CD4+CD25+FOXP3+CD25++CD45RA+) and activated Treg (aTreg, CD3+CD4+CD25+FOXP3+CD25+++CD45RA-) cells exhibit immunosuppressive activity, while cytokine-secreting T cells (FrIII, CD3+CD4+CD25+FOXP3+CD25++CD45RA-) exhibit proinflammatory activity. Previous findings have shown an increased density of cytokine-secreting T cells in COPD patients experiencing exacerbation. However, the methods for evaluating COPD under stable conditions are lacking.<BR><B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To evaluate Treg cell phenotypes in patients with different stages of COPD under stable conditions.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from non-obstructed smokers and ex-smokers (NOS group, n = 19) and COPD patients at different stages (COPD I-II group, n = 25; COPD III-IV group, n = 25). The phenotypic characteristics of Treg cells and Th17 cells and their respective intracellular cytokines were analyzed by flow cytometry.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Both obstructed groups showed an increase in the proportion of rTregs, while the COPD III-IV group showed additional increases in total Treg and Th17 cells and in IL-10+ cells. There was an increase in proinflammatory mediators (CD3+CD4+IL-17+ cells; CD3+CD4+RORγt+ cells) in the COPD I-II group. In contrast, the NOS group demonstrated high proportions of proinflammatory Treg cells and proinflammatory CD8+ T cells (CD3+CD8+IL-17+).<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Despite the increase in both total Treg cells and the rTreg phenotype from the early stages of COPD, there was a decrease in cells expressing IL-10, suggesting a failure in controlling the inflammatory process. These events precede the progression of the inflammatory process mediated by Th17 cells.