Sputum from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients inhibits T cell migration in a microfluidic device

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 1445; no. 1; pp. 52 - 61
• Main Authors: Ren, Xiaoou, Wu, Jiandong, Levin, David, Santos, Susy, Faria, Ricardo Lobato, Zhang, Michael, Lin, Francis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2019
• Subjects: Cell adhesion & migration; Cell Migration Inhibition - physiology; Cell Movement - physiology; Chemokine CXCL12 - metabolism; Chemotaxis; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Humans; Infiltration; Inflammation; Leukocyte migration; Leukocytes; Lung diseases; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; microfluidic device; Microfluidic devices; Microfluidics; migration; Obstructive lung disease; Pathogenesis; Peripheral blood; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - pathology; Respiratory tract; Sputum; Sputum - metabolism; T cell; T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; migration; sputum; microfluidic device; T cell; chemotaxis; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632; 1749-6632
• DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14029

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease characterized by narrowed airways, resulting in serious breathing difficulty. Previous studies have demonstrated that inflammatory infiltration of leukocytes in the airway is associated with the pathogenesis of COPD. In the present study, we employed a microfluidic approach to assess the effect of COPD sputum on activated human peripheral blood T cell migration and chemotaxis under well‐controlled gradient conditions. Our results showed considerable basal migration of T cells derived from peripheral blood of COPD patients and healthy controls in the medium control groups. By contrast, the migration of T cells from COPD patients and healthy controls was significantly inhibited in the presence of a gradient of sputum supernatant from COPD patients. Furthermore, chemotaxis of T cells from COPD patients or healthy subjects toward an SDF‐1α gradient was clearly inhibited by sputum samples from the COPD patients. The inhibition effect revealed by the microfluidic cell migration experiments provides new information about the complex involvement of T cell trafficking in COPD. Inflammatory infiltration of leukocytes in the airway is associated with the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the mechanism of T cell migration involved in COPD remains poorly defined. This study used a microfluidic approach to assess the effect of COPD sputum on activated human peripheral blood T cell migration and chemotaxis under well‐controlled gradient conditions.