Cystic Fibrosis Plasma Blunts the Immune Response to Bacterial Infection.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations of the gene encoding the CF transmembrane conductance regulator. It remains unclear whether the abnormal immune response in CF involves extrinsic signals released from the external or internal environment. We sought to characterize the peripheral immune signatures in CF and its association with clinical phenotypes. Healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured with plasma from CF probands (CFPs) or healthy control subjects (HCs) followed by nCounter gene and microRNA (miRNA) profiling. A discovery cohort of 12 CFPs and 12 HCs and a validation cohort of 103 CFPs and 31 HCs (our previous microarray data [GSE71799]) were analyzed to characterize the composition of cultured immune cells and establish a miRNA‒mRNA network. Cell compositions and miRNA profiles were associated with clinical characteristics of the cohorts. Significantly differentially expressed genes and abundance of myeloid cells were downregulated in PMBCs after culture with CF plasma (P < 0.05). Top-ranked miRNAs that increased in response to CF plasma (adjusted P < 0.05) included miR-155 and miR-146a, which target many immune-related genes, such as IL-8. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection was negatively associated with abundance of monocytes and the presence of those regulatory miRNAs. Extrinsic signals in plasma from patients with CF led to monocyte inactivation and miRNA upregulation in PBMCs. An improved understanding of the immune effects of extrinsic factors in CF holds great promise for integrating immunomodulatory cell therapies into current treatment strategies in CF.
['Zhang|Xi|X|0000-0003-4766-822X', 'Pan|Amy|A|', 'Jia|Shuang|S|', 'Ideozu|Justin E|JE|', 'Woods|Katherine|K|', 'Murkowski|Kathleen|K|', 'Hessner|Martin J|MJ|', 'Simpson|Pippa M|PM|', 'Levy|Hara|H|0000-0002-3784-0711']
D001424:Bacterial Infections D002478:Cells, Cultured D003550:Cystic Fibrosis D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator D006801:Humans D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear D008168:Lung D035683:MicroRNAs D009000:Monocytes D010949:Plasma D011552:Pseudomonas Infections D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa
cystic fibrosis immune response peripheral blood mononuclear cells microRNA gene expression