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Published on: June 15, 2019
Severity of critical illness correlates with CD3-low expression on iNKT-cells among septic surgical patients
Daithi S Heffernan1,2, Chun-Shiang Chung3, Alfred Ayala3
1Division of Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University School of Medicine, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, Rhode Island, 02903, USA. dheffernan@brown.edu.
Background:
iNKT-cells are innate regulatory lymphocytes capable of directing immune and inflammatory responses to sepsis. Repeat stimulation of iNKT-cells leads to the induction of anergy with the emergence of a hyporesponsive CD3low iNKT-cell subpopulation.
Methods:
iNKT-cells were isolated from critical ill surgical patients with sepsis and phenotyped for CD3 expression. This was correlated with degree of severity of illness, as denoted by APACHE-II score.
Results:
Comparing healthy volunteers to critically ill septic patients, it was noted that increasing severity of sepsis was associated with increasing frequency of circulating CD3low-iNKT-cell populations.
Conclusion:
The emergence of CD3low -iNKT-cells may serve as a clinically translatable marker of degree of sepsis-induced immune dysfunction.
