PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andrea Zanini
AU  - Sabrina Della Patrona
AU  - Federico Gumiero
AU  - Maria Majori
AU  - Dario Olivieri
AU  - Antonio Spanevello
AU  - Alfredo Chetta
TI  - Bronchial mucosal dendritic cells and VEGF expression in COPD patients
DP  - 2012 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P296
VI  - 40
IP  - Suppl 56
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P296.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P296.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40
AB  - Introduction: Dendritic cells (DCs) have a pivotal role in the onset and regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. A decreased number of mature DCs may occur in the airways of COPD patients, thereby reducing their immune response. Moreover, DCs can affect vascularization process in different physiopathological conditions. There are no data concerning the relationship between DCs and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in COPD patients. Objectives: We evaluated the relationship between the expression of VEGF and the density of DCs in the bronchial mucosa of COPD patients. Methods: Twenty patients with moderate to severe COPD (age 76±10 yr, 3 F; FEV1 51±9%, FEV1⁄VC 48±12%) were studied. Eight healthy subjects represented a control group (CS). Bronchial biopsies were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and presence of DCs was investigated by using antibody directed against CD207, to mark immature DCs, and against CD83, to mark mature DCs. Results: Comparisons are summarized in the table.View this table:Data are presented as mean±SD. In all COPD patients, CD207+ cells were inversely related to FEV1 (r=-0.52, p<0.05) and CD83+ cells were inversely related to VEGF expression (r=-0.45, p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results show that COPD airways were associated with a decrease in mature DCs and that these cells were inversely related to VEGF expression. Additionally, immature DCs were significantly related to airflow obstruction. We speculate that the DCs-VEGF interplay may play a key role both in angiogenesis and in the immune response in COPD patients.