Identification of Circulating Tfh/Th Subsets as Biomarker of Hospital-acquired Pneumonia
Abstract BackgroundThe incidence rate of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is increasing in ICU patients, which is usually associated with dysregulated immune responses. Previous study has revealed Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells were essential for the formation and maintenance of geminal centers for anti-viral immune response, however, little is known about it during HAP.MethodsA total number of 62 patients with HAP and 10 healthy individuals were recruited. Lower respiratory tract secretion and blood samples were taken for microbiological examinations. Uncontrolled and controlled HAP patients were identified on the basis of its respiratory function or hemodynamics, according to the ATS guidelines of HAP. Circulating Tfh cells (CXCR5+Foxp3-CD4+) and Th cells (CXCR5-FoxP3-CD4+) in all individuals were analyzed by flow cytometry.ResultsClinically, 34 patients had uncontrolled HAP and 28 patients were controlled HAP. Patients were mainly infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae (K.p), Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is noted that Tfh/Th ratio was increased in patients with uncontrolled HAP than controlled HAP (P<0.05). Especially, Tfh/Th ratio was also higher in K.p-infected than non-K.p-infected patients (P<0.05). Furthermore, Tfh/Th ratio was significantly elevated in patients with BSIs compared to those without BSIs (P<0.01). Furthermore, Tfh/Th ratio showed an association with PCT, and the combination of Tfh/Th and PCT could serve as a better predicting marker for deterioration of HAP. Accordingly, HAP patients with high Tfh/Th ratio had a lower rate of survival in 28 days.ConclusionTfh/Th ratio is useful for identifying the severity of the patients with HAP and increased Tfh/Th ratio indicates uncontrolled HAP. Circulating Tfh/Th subsets could be used as a prognostic biomarker and may provide novel insight for the pathogenesis of HAP.