CD4+/CD8+ mucosa-associated invariant T cells foster the development of endometriosis: a pilot study

Abstract

Background Immune dysregulation is one of the mechanisms to promote endometriosis (EMS). Various T cell subpopulations have been reported to play different roles in the development of EMS. The mucosa-associated invariant T cell (MAIT) is an important T cell subset in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases. Evidence has indicated that there are three functionally distinct MAIT subsets: CD4+, CD8+ and CD4/CD8−/− (double negative, DN) MAIT cells. Till now, the associations between endometriosis and MAIT have not been studied. Our research investigates different MAIT subpopulations in peripheral blood (PB) and peritoneal fluid (PF) from EMS patients. Methods Thirty-two EMS patients and eighteen controls were included. PB and PF were collected. Tests of cytokines in plasma and PF were performed by ELISA kit. Characterisations of MAIT were done by flow cytometry. MAIT cells have been defined as CD3 + CD161 + Vα7.2+ cells. Based on CD4 and CD8 expression, they were divided into CD8+MAIT, CD4+MAIT and DN MAIT. Results Enrichments of MAIT cells, especially CD4 and CD8 MAIT subsets were found. Moreover, CD8 MAIT cells had a high activation in the EMS group. EMS patients produced higher level of IL-8/12/17 as compared to these from controls. On the contrary, control patients exhibited an impressive upregulation of DN MAIT cells, however, these DN MAIT cells from controls showed a higher expression of PD-1. Lastly, we performed the relevance analysis, and discovered that the accumulation of PB MAIT cells positively correlated with an elevated level of serum CA125 production in EMS group. Conclusion These results suggest that different MAIT subsets play distinct roles in the progression of endometriosis.

The combined action of monocytic myeloid‐derived suppressor cells and mucosal‐associated invariant T cells promotes the progression of cervical cancer

“…The majority of MAIT cells are CD8 + subset and the minority CD4 +. 21‐23 However, the functional correlation among these MAIT cell subsets in cervical cancer patients is poorly understood. In this work, elevated levels of CD8 + , CD4 + and CD38 + CD8 + MAIT cells were found in PB of cervical cancer patients, while DN MAIT and PD‐1(CD279 + ) DN MAIT cells were reduced compared to controls.…”

“…Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are an evolutionarily conserved group of innate‐like T lymphocytes and are extremely rich in peripheral blood (PB), lungs, liver and other mucosal tissues. They express semi‐invariant T‐cell receptor (TCR) α chains (Vα7.2‐Jα33 in humans and Vα19‐Jα33 in mice) and TCR β chains (Vβ2, Vβ13 and Vβ22 in humans and Vβ6 and Vβ8 in mice) 19‐24 . Conventionally, MAIT cells are defined in humans by co‐expression of TCR Va7.2, CD3, CD161 marker, and the majority are CD8/CD4 −/− (double negative, DN) and CD8 + cells with a minority CD4 + subset 21‐23 …”

“…They express semi-invariant T-cell receptor (TCR) α chains (Vα7.2-Jα33 in humans and Vα19-Jα33 in mice) and TCR β chains (Vβ2, Vβ13 and Vβ22 in humans and Vβ6 and Vβ8 in mice). [19][20][21][22][23][24] Conventionally, MAIT cells are defined in humans by co-expression of TCR Va7.2, CD3, CD161 marker, and the majority are CD8/CD4 −/− (double negative, DN) and CD8 + cells with a minority CD4 + subset. [21][22][23] Human MAIT cells can also express Vα7.2 α-chain TCR, which recognizes small molecule metabolites of microbial-derived vitamin B 2 in the context of major histocompatibility complex-related 1 (MR1).…”

New Insights into Asthma Inflammation: Focus on iNKT, MAIT, and γδT Cells

“…Human MAIT cells express high levels of CD161 and IL-18Rα and are mainly CD8 + [113]. A smaller proportion among these is double-negative (CD4 -CD8 -) and some CD4 + cells have been described in the literature [114]. MAIT cells can be activated in a TCRdependent and -independent manner.…”

Single‐cell Raman trapping analysis revealed immunometabolism changes in peritoneal fluid in endometriosis

“…Raman analysis has been used to evaluate the metabolism and biochemical characteristics that might accompany the onset of disease at the subcellular level 16,17 . By analysing the position, intensity and width of Raman bands, unique molecular fingerprints of the most relevant biomolecules (proteins, lipids, sugars and nucleic acids) in the analysed sample could be obtained, 18 which may be highly related to specific biological processes accompanying the progressions of most diseases, such as cellular activity, metabolism and oxidative stress 19‐21 . Especially, the Raman Trapping Microscope, which is the combination of optical trapping and confocal Raman microscopy, allows to capture and stabilize floating cells during the Raman measurements and is highly useful in the measurements of cells or particles in suspensions and body fluids.…”