Characterization of immune cells in psoriatic adipose tissue

BACKGROUND: Adipose tissue normally contains immune cells that regulate adipocyte function and contribute to metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes mellitus. Psoriasis is associated with increased risk for metabolic disease, which may in part be due to adipose dysfunction, which has not been investigated in psoriasis. There is currently no standardized method for immunophenotyping human adipose tissue. In prior studies, characteristic phenotypic markers of immune cell populations identified in animal models or in other human tissues have been applied in a similar manner to human adipose tissue. Rarely have these populations been verified with confirmatory methodologies or functional studies. Thus, we performed a comprehensive phenotypic and functional analysis of immune cell populations in psoriatic adipose tissue. METHODS: Conventional and imaging flow cytometry were used to define immune cell populations in biopsy specimens of psoriatic adipose tissue (n = 30) including T cells, B cells, NK cells, NKT cells, neutrophils, and macrophages. Relationships between adipose immune cell types and body mass index were determined using Spearman regression analysis, and multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to adjust for cardiometabolic disease risk factors. RESULTS: These analyses revealed a wide range of cell surface receptors on adipose tissue macrophages, which may serve a dual purpose in immunity and metabolism. Further, both CD16+CD56(Lo) and CD16-CD56(Hi) NK cells were found to correlate inversely with body mass index. The relationship between the predominant CD16+CD56(Lo) NK cell population and body mass index persisted after adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, and tobacco use. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these studies enhance our understanding of adipose immune cell phenotype and function, and demonstrate that examination of adipose tissue may provide greater insight into cardiometabolic pathophysiology in psoriasis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-014-0258-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.