Angiogenic T cells in interstitial lung diseases

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) lead to an increase in the patient’s morbidity and mortality. According to the etiology, ILD can be divided in disorders with either an unknown or known possible cause such as an underlying connective tissue disease (CTD) [1]. A specific T cell subset termed angiogenic T cells (TAng), that promote endothelial repair and revascularization, has been involved in the pathogenesis of CTD [2]. Nevertheless, little is known about their role in ILD. Objective: To assess the potential role of TAng in ILD. Methods: Peripheral venous blood was collected from 61 patients with ILD (composed of 21 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and 40 with CTD-ILD+), 44 CTD-ILD- patients and 20 healthy controls (HC). Quantification of TAng was performed by flow cytometry. TAng were considered as triple-positive for CD3, CD31 and CXCR4. Results: Patients with ILD exhibited a significantly lower TAng frequency than CTD-ILD- patients and HC (mean ± standard deviation: 11.98 ± 4.75 versus 16.24 ± 5.03 and 11.98 ± 4.75 versus 16.50 ± 4.83, respectively, p Conclusion: Our results disclose a decrease of TAng frequency related to the presence of ILD. References: [1] J Clin Med 2020;9(6):1606; [2] Ann Rheum Dis 2015 74(5):921-7. Personal funds, VP-C: PREVAL18/01 (IDIVAL); SR-M: RD16/0012/0009 (ISCIII-ERDF); LL-G: INNVAL20/06 (IDIVAL); RP-F: START PROJECT (FOREUM); RL-M: Miguel Servet type I CP16/00033 (ISCIII-ESF).