Influence of Smoking Cessation on Airway T Lymphocyte Subsets in COPD

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographics and spirometry values of the four groups

	Never- smokers n = 12	Smokers n = 13	COPD Ex-smokers n = 12	COPD Smokers n = 7
Male:Female	7:5	7:6	9:3	2:5
Age	66 ± 4.9	59 ± 6.0	67 ± 6.6	66 ± 5.2
Smoking (pack-years)	0 (0–0)	27 (20–42)	37 (33–47)	28 (14–50)
COPD stage	NA	NA	2 and 3	2 and 3
FEV1/FVC %	78 (75–83)	78 (77–83)	60 (49–67)	58 (50–62)
FEV1% of predicted	106 (88–120)	115 (111–120)	60 (43–66)	61 (39–75)

Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation for age, median and interquartile range for all others. FEV₁: Forced expiratory volume in 1 second, measured post bronchodilatation; FVC: Forced vital capacity. *According to GOLD standard. NA: not available.

Table 2 Differential cell count of white blood cells in BAL fluid, given in number cells/ml*10⁴

		Never smokers (NS) n = 12	Smokers (S) n = 13	COPD n = 19	p	COPD ex-smokers n = 12	COPD smokers n = 7	p
Total leukocytes	×10^4.ml^− 1	17 (11–27)	40 (33–49)	25 (17–30)	P < 0.01 NS vs S P < 0.001 S vs COPD	20 (15–26)	29 (27–35)	P < 0.05 COPD ex-s vs COPD s
Macrophages	%	85 (79–90)	91 (89–94)	93 (86–95)	P < 0.01 NS vs S	90 (80–93)	95 (94–98)	NS
	×10^4.ml^− 1	15 (10–22)	36 (30–46)	22 (14–27)	P < 0.001 NS vs S S vs COPD	16 (11–21)	27 (25–33)	P < 0.01 COPD ex-s vs COPD s
Neutrophils	%	0.8 (0.3–1.4)	1.4 (0.8–2.2)	0.7 (0.2–2.4)	NS	0.75 (0.4–2.8)	0.2 (0.2–1.7)	NS
	×10^4.ml^− 1	0.12 (0.06–0.18)	0.56 (0.23–1.1)	0.16 (0.06–0.6)	P < 0.05 NS vs S	0.23 (0.05–0.6)	0.09 (0.06–0.6)	NS
Lymphocytes	%	14 (9.2–19)	6.9 (3.0–8.8)	6.5 (3.0–11)	P < 0.01 NS vs S S vs COPD P < 0.05 NS vs COPD	8.7 (6.1–12)	3.7 (2.0–5.2)	NS
	×10^4.ml^− 1	2.0 (0.8–7.7)	2.1 (1.4–3.4)	1.3 (0.68–3.0)	NS	1.8 (0.8–3.0)	1.5 (0.57–1.5)	NS
Eosinophiles	%	0.2 (0–0.65)	0.2 (0–0.70)	0.4 (0.1–1.1)	NS	0.35 (0.1–1.3)	0.5 (0.2–1.0)	NS
	×10^4.ml^− 1	0.04 (0–0.14)	0.06 (0–0.32)	0.06 (0.03–0.27)	NS	0.06 (0.02–0.35)	0.12 (0.05–0.27)	NS
Mast cells	%0	0.62 (0.13–1.25)	1.5 (1–3.4)	1.5 (0.75–3.8)	NS	1.4 (0.25–4.0)	1.75 (1.0–2.5)	NS
	×10^4.ml^− 1	0.01 (0.0–0.03)	0.07 (0.04–0.15)	0.05 (0.01–0.08)	P < 0.001 NS vs S	0.03 (0.003–0.082)	0.06 (0.03–0.08)	NS

Data are given as median and IQR.

Figure 1 Lymphocytes derived from BAL fluid were gated according to forward and side scatter (FSC/SSC) and screened by flow cytometry for the presence of CD4⁺CD25⁺ and CD4⁺CD25^bright cells. Representative FACS stainings from one individual with COPD and one control subject are shown. To the right of each figure, percentages of bright, dim and negative population of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells are shown.

Figure 2 Flow cytometry of never-smokers (NS), smokers (S) and COPD. CD4, CD8 and TCR gamma delta are given as percent of CD3. Among the COPD group • indicates ex-smokers, whilst Δ indicates smokers. A p-value below 0.017 is considered significant. Significance levels are noted as * p < 0.017, ** p < 0.01 and *** p < 0.001.

Figure 3 Sub-groups analysis of never-smokers (NS), COPD ex-smokers (COPD ex-s) and COPD smokers (COPD s). CD4, CD8 and TCR gamma delta are given as percent of CD3. A p-value below 0.05 is considered significant. Significance levels are noted as * p < 0.05 and ** p < 0.01.