Imbalance of dendritic cell co-stimulation in COPD

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DCs) control immunity and play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the expression of function-associated surface molecules on circulating DCs in COPD is unknown. METHODS: Four-colour flow cytometry was used to compare blood DC surface molecules of 54 patients with COPD (median age: 59 years; median FEV(1): 38% predicted, median CAT score: 24) with two age-matched control groups with normal lung function: 21 current smokers and 21 never-smokers. RESULTS: Concentrations of plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and myeloid DCs (mDCs) and the mDC/pDC ratio did not differ between the groups. The increased expression of BDCA-1, BDCA-3, CD86 and CCR5 on mDCs in patients with COPD did not significantly differ from smokers with normal lung function. In contrast, COPD was specifically characterised by a decreased expression of the anti-inflammatory co-stimulatory molecule PD-L1 on pDCs and an increased expression of the pro-inflammatory co-stimulatory molecule OX40 ligand (OX40L) on mDCs. These changes were not confined to patients with elevated systemic inflammation markers (leukocytes, c-reactive protein, interleukin-6, fibrinogen). The ratio of OX40L to PD-L1 expression (OX40L/PD-L1 ratio), a quantitative measure of imbalanced DC co-stimulation, correlated with the severity of pulmonary emphysema in patients with COPD. CONCLUSION: An imbalance of DC co-stimulation might contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12931-015-0174-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.