Phenotypic Profiling of Immune Cells and Their Mediators in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disorder and has been proposed to have an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors. Methods: This study was conducted on 41 participants {18 COPD patients (smokers, COPD S (n = 9); reformed smokers, COPD RS (n = 9)) and 23 controls (non-smokers, CNS (n = 14); smokers, CS (n = 9))}. Flow cytometry was used to identify circulatory immune cells and correlated with serum cytokines. Results: On comparison, significantly lower frequency of CD3+ T cells were observed in COPD S as compared to CNS (p < 0.01) and CS (p < 0.01); CD4+ T cells were lower in COPD S (p < 0.05), COPD RS (p < 0.05) and CNS (p < 0.01) as compared to CS. CD8+ T cells were elevated in COPD S as compared to CS (p < 0.05). Lower frequency of cDCs were observed in COPD S as compared to CS (p < 0.05) and COPD RS as compared to CNS (p < 0.01) and CS (p < 0.01). Lower frequency of pDCs were observed in COPD RS as compared to COPD S (p < 0.05), CNS (p < 0.05) and CS (p < 0.01). Lower frequency of Tregs was observed in COPD S as compared to CNS (p < 0.05) and CS (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Characteristic changes observed indicate a significant impact of immune cells in the progression of the disease.