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Resident eosinophils in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study
Wei Sun1, Sijie Liu1, Ruonan Xu1
1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Frontiers in Medicine
|June 10, 2026
Summary
Resident eosinophils (rEos) are significantly lower in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Lower rEos levels may predict COPD development, highlighting their potential role in disease pathophysiology.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Eosinophilic inflammation is implicated in approximately 20% of COPD cases.
- Previous research on eosinophils' role in COPD has yielded conflicting results, possibly due to differing eosinophil subtypes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct roles of resident eosinophils (rEos) and inflammatory eosinophils (iEos) in stable COPD.
- To determine if eosinophil subtypes can serve as biomarkers for COPD prediction.
Main Methods:
- Prospective observational study (Jan-Jun 2025) involving 27 stable COPD patients and 10 healthy controls.
- Eosinophil isolation from blood samples followed by flow-cytometry to differentiate rEos (Siglec-8+CD62L+IL-3Rlow) and iEos (Siglec-8+CD62Llow-IL-3Rhi).
- Analysis of baseline characteristics, pulmonary function tests, and cytokine levels.
Main Results:
- The absolute number and proportion of rEos were significantly lower in stable COPD patients compared to controls.
- The absolute number of rEos demonstrated a strong predictive value for COPD (AUC 0.856).
- A ratio below 1.955 was associated with COPD pathophysiology (OR 0.231, p=0.026).
Conclusions:
- Lower levels of resident eosinophils (rEos) are associated with stable COPD.
- rEos show potential as a predictive biomarker for COPD.
- Further multicenter studies and basic research are needed to confirm the role of rEos in COPD pathogenesis.
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