Association of monocyte migration marker CD11b with pulmonary function in people living with HIV.

BACKGROUND Maladaptive immune responses contribute to the pathogenesis of many chronic lung diseases. Here, we tested hypotheses that CD4 and CD8 T cell and monocyte phenotypes are associated with lung function in people living with HIV (PLWH) and those without HIV. METHODS Markers of T cell differentiation, activation, exhaustion and senescence, and markers of monocyte recruitment and migration were quantified in 142 HIV-positive and 73 HIV-negative participants of the Pittsburgh HIV Lung Cohort. All participants underwent lung function testing. RESULTS CD4 or CD8 T cell phenotypes were not associated with measures of lung function in HIV-positive or HIV-negative participants after adjustment for multiple comparisons. In HIV-positive participants however, the percentage of classical monocytes that were CD11b had positive associations at the Bonferroni-adjusted significance threshold of P=0.05/63 with pre- and post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (β=0.36; P=0.00003 and β=0.31; P=0.0003, respectively). In stratified analyses of n=87 participants with CD4 ≥500 cells/µL, associations of percentage of classical monocytes that were CD11b with pre- and post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio were stronger (β=0.48 and β=0.41, for pre- and post-, respectively) than in the entire HIV-positive study population. Significant associations of monocyte phenotypes were not observed in HIV-negative participants after adjustment for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSIONS CD11b expression on classical monocytes is positively associated with FEV1/FVC ratio in PLWH including in those with CD4 T cell recovery. Given the normal surveillance activity of monocytes, such association suggests this monocyte subset may play a role in preservation of pulmonary function in PLWH.