ArticlePloS one2013
Differential activation of killer cells in the circulation and the lung: a study of current smoking status and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of CD8 + T lymphocytes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2021Pooled it
- Natural and disease-specific autoantibodies in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Clinical and experimental immunology · 2015Trial
- The IL-33/ST2 pathway to modulate the inflammatory microenvironment: A new therapeutic target in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Review
- Dysregulated NK cell activation and myeloid-lymphoid imbalance underpin COPD progression: insights from high-dimensional immune profiling and smoking-induced immune remodeling.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Article
- A model of dysregulated crosstalk between dendritic, natural killer, and regulatory T cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Trends in immunology · 2024Article
- Fine particulate matter aggravates smoking induced lung injury via NLRP3/caspase-1 pathway in COPD.Journal of inflammation (London, England) · 2024Article
- Natural Killer Cells as a Further Insight into the Course of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Leukocyte Function in COPD: Clinical Relevance and Potential for Drug Therapy.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2021Review
- NK Cells in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Adaptive NKG2C+ natural killer cells are related to exacerbations and nutritional abnormalities in COPD patients.Respiratory research · 2020Article
- Review
- A Meta-Analysis of the Performance of a Blood-Based Exposure Response Gene Signature Across Clinical Studies on the Tobacco Heating System 2.2 (THS 2.2).Frontiers in pharmacology · 2019Article
- The Influence of Innate Lymphoid Cells and Unconventional T Cells in Chronic Inflammatory Lung Disease.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Review
- Article
- Tobacco Smoke Induces and Alters Immune Responses in the Lung Triggering Inflammation, Allergy, Asthma and Other Lung Diseases: A Mechanistic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Review
- Systemic Markers of Adaptive and Innate Immunity Are Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Severity and Spirometric Disease Progression.American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology · 2018Article
- Lipid-Reactive T Cells in Immunological Disorders of the Lung.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
- Roles of Myeloid and Lymphoid Cells in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCD8(+) T-lymphocytes, natural killer T-like cells (NKT-like cells, CD56(+)CD3(+)) and natural killer cells (NK cells, CD56(+)CD3(-)) are the three main classes of human killer cells and they are implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Activation of these cells can initiate immune responses by virtue of their production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that cause lung tissue damage, mucus hypersecretion and emphysema. The objective of the current study was to investigate the activation levels of human killer cells in healthy non-smokers, healthy smokers, ex-smokers with COPD and current smokers with COPD, in both peripheral blood and induced sputum. METHODS/PRINCIPAL
findingsAfter informed consent, 124 participants were recruited into the study and peripheral blood or induced sputum was taken. The activation states and receptor expression of killer cells were measured by flow cytometry. In peripheral blood, current smokers, regardless of disease state, have the highest proportion of activated CD8(+) T-lymphocytes, NKT-like cells and NK cells compared with ex-smokers with COPD and healthy non-smokers. Furthermore, CD8(+) T-lymphocyte and NK cell activation is positively correlated with the number of cigarettes currently smoked. Conversely, in induced sputum, the proportion of activated killer cells was related to disease state rather than current smoking status, with current and ex-smokers with COPD having significantly higher rates of activation than healthy smokers and healthy non-smokers.
conclusionsA differential effect in systemic and lung activation of killer cells in COPD is evident. Systemic activation appears to be related to current smoking whereas lung activation is related to the presence or absence of COPD, irrespective of current smoking status. These findings suggest that modulating killer cell activation may be a new target for the treatment of COPD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.