BACKGROUND: The number of type 2 helper CD4+ T cells is increased in the airways of persons with asthma. Whether the majority of these cells are class II major-histocompatibility-complex-restricted cells or are among the recently identified CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T cells is a matter of controversy. We studied the frequency of invariant natural killer T cells in the airways of subjects with mild or moderately severe asthma to investigate the possibility of an association between the number of invariant natural killer T cells in the airway and disease severity. We also studied whether an increased number of these cells is a feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: We enumerated invariant natural killer T cells by flow cytometry with the use of CD1d tetramers loaded with alpha-galactosylceramide and antibodies specific to the invariant natural killer T-cell receptor in samples of bronchoalveolar-lavage fluid, induced sputum, and bronchial-biopsy specimens obtained from subjects with mild or moderately severe asthma, subjects with COPD, and healthy control subjects. Real-time polymerase-chain-reaction analysis was performed on bronchoalveolar-lavage cells for evidence of gene expression of the invariant natural killer T-cell receptor. RESULTS: Fewer than 2% of the T cells obtained from all subjects on airway biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and sputum induction were invariant natural killer T cells, with no significant differences among the three groups of subjects. No expression of messenger RNA for the invariant natural killer T-cell-receptor domains Valpha24 and Vbeta11 was detected in bronchoalveolar-lavage cells from subjects with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Invariant natural killer T cells are found in low numbers in the airways of subjects with asthma, subjects with COPD, and controls. Copyright 2007 Massachusetts Medical Society.
BACKGROUND: The number of type 2 helper CD4+ T cells is increased in the airways of persons with asthma. Whether the majority of these cells are class II major-histocompatibility-complex-restricted cells or are among the recently identified CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T cells is a matter of controversy. We studied the frequency of invariant natural killer T cells in the airways of subjects with mild or moderately severe asthma to investigate the possibility of an association between the number of invariant natural killer T cells in the airway and disease severity. We also studied whether an increased number of these cells is a feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: We enumerated invariant natural killer T cells by flow cytometry with the use of CD1d tetramers loaded with alpha-galactosylceramide and antibodies specific to the invariant natural killer T-cell receptor in samples of bronchoalveolar-lavage fluid, induced sputum, and bronchial-biopsy specimens obtained from subjects with mild or moderately severe asthma, subjects with COPD, and healthy control subjects. Real-time polymerase-chain-reaction analysis was performed on bronchoalveolar-lavage cells for evidence of gene expression of the invariant natural killer T-cell receptor. RESULTS: Fewer than 2% of the T cells obtained from all subjects on airway biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and sputum induction were invariant natural killer T cells, with no significant differences among the three groups of subjects. No expression of messenger RNA for the invariant natural killer T-cell-receptor domains Valpha24 and Vbeta11 was detected in bronchoalveolar-lavage cells from subjects with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Invariant natural killer T cells are found in low numbers in the airways of subjects with asthma, subjects with COPD, and controls. Copyright 2007 Massachusetts Medical Society.
Authors: C S De Paiva; J K Raince; A J McClellan; K P Shanmugam; S B Pangelinan; E A Volpe; R M Corrales; W J Farley; D B Corry; D-Q Li; S C Pflugfelder Journal: Mucosal Immunol Date: 2010-12-22 Impact factor: 7.313
Authors: Yvonne J Huang; Craig E Nelson; Eoin L Brodie; Todd Z Desantis; Marshall S Baek; Jane Liu; Tanja Woyke; Martin Allgaier; Jim Bristow; Jeanine P Wiener-Kronish; E Rand Sutherland; Tonya S King; Nikolina Icitovic; Richard J Martin; William J Calhoun; Mario Castro; Loren C Denlinger; Emily Dimango; Monica Kraft; Stephen P Peters; Stephen I Wasserman; Michael E Wechsler; Homer A Boushey; Susan V Lynch Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2010-12-30 Impact factor: 10.793
Authors: Edit Gyimesi; Georgina Nagy; Éva Remenyik; Sándor Sipka; Margit Zeher; Tamás Bíró; Andrea Szegedi Journal: J Clin Immunol Date: 2011-06-21 Impact factor: 8.317