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Kullberg S, Grunewald J, Eklund A. Lymphopenia and high Ki-67 expression in peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells associate with progressive sarcoidosis. BMJ Open Respir Res 2023; 10:e001551. [PMID: 38097354 PMCID: PMC10729051 DOI: 10.1136/bmjresp-2022-001551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early identification of patients at risk for progressive sarcoidosis may improve intervention. High bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) lymphocytes and peripheral blood (PB) lymphopenia are associated with worse prognosis. The mechanisms behind are not disentangled, and to date, it is not possible to predict disease course with certainty. OBJECTIVES Insight into the frequency of T regulatory cells (Tregs), proliferating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in BALF and PB in clinically well-characterised patients, may provide clues to mechanisms behind differences in disease course. METHODS Nineteen treatment-naïve patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis were assessed with BAL and PB samples at diagnosis. From the majority, repeated PB samples were collected over a year after diagnosis. The patients were followed for a median of 3 years and clinical parameters were used to classify patients into resolving, chronic progressive and chronic stable disease. Lymphocyte counts, frequency of Tregs defined as forkhead box protein 3+ (FoxP3+) CD4+T cells, and proliferating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells assessed with Ki-67 were analysed. RESULTS Eleven patients disclosed a chronic stable, and eight a progressive disease course, no one resolved during the study period. In PB, lower number of lymphocytes associated with chronic progressive disease, an increased frequency of Ki-67+CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and a tendency towards higher percentage of FoxP3+CD4+ T cells compared with chronic stable patients. CONCLUSION A reduction of PB lymphocytes despite increased proliferation of CD4+and CD8+ T cells was observed in patients with chronic active compared with chronic stable sarcoidosis, indicating an increased PB lymphocyte turn-over in patients with deteriorating disease. Measurement of PB Tregs, Ki-67+CD4+ and Ki-67+CD8+ T cells may help in predicting sarcoidosis disease course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Kullberg
- Respiratory Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Grunewald
- Respiratory Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anders Eklund
- Respiratory Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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Papiris SA, Kolilekas L, Rivera N, Spanos M, Li G, Gokulnath P, Chatterjee E, Georgakopoulos A, Kallieri M, Papaioannou AI, Raptakis T, Apollonatou V, Antonogiannaki EM, Gialafos E, Chatziioannou S, Grunewald J, Manali ED. From Karl Wurm and Guy Scadding's staging to 18F-FDG PET/CT scan phenotyping and far beyond: perspective in the evading history of phenotyping in sarcoidosis. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1174518. [PMID: 37234239 PMCID: PMC10206027 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1174518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory granulomatous disease of unknown etiology involving any organ or tissue along with any combination of active sites, even the most silent ones clinically. The unpredictable nature of the sites involved in sarcoidosis dictates the highly variable natural history of the disease and the necessity to cluster cases at diagnosis based on clinical and/or imaging common characteristics in an attempt to classify patients based on their more homogeneous phenotypes, possibly with similar clinical behavior, prognosis, outcome, and therefore with therapeutic requirements. In the course of the disease's history, this attempt relates to the availability of a means of detection of the sites involved, from the Karl Wurm and Guy Scadding's chest x-ray staging through the ACCESS, the WASOG Sarcoidosis Organ Assessment Instruments, and the GenPhenReSa study to the 18F-FDG PET/CT scan phenotyping and far beyond to new technologies and/or the current "omics." The hybrid molecular imaging of the 18F-FDG PET/CT scan, by unveiling the glucose metabolism of inflammatory cells, can identify high sensitivity inflammatory active granulomas, the hallmark of sarcoidosis-even in clinically and physiologically silent sites-and, as recently shown, is successful in identifying an unexpected ordered stratification into four phenotypes: (I) hilar-mediastinal nodal, (II) lungs and hilar-mediastinal nodal, (III) an extended nodal supraclavicular, thoracic, abdominal, inguinal, and (IV) all the above in addition to systemic organs and tissues, which is therefore the ideal phenotyping instrument. During the "omics era," studies could provide significant, distinct, and exclusive insights into sarcoidosis phenotypes linking clinical, laboratory, imaging, and histologic characteristics with molecular signatures. In this context, the personalization of treatment for sarcoidosis patients might have reached its goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spyros A. Papiris
- 2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, Medical School, General University Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Natalia Rivera
- Respiratory Medicine Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Michail Spanos
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Simches 3 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Guoping Li
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Simches 3 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Priyanka Gokulnath
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Simches 3 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Emeli Chatterjee
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Simches 3 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Alexandros Georgakopoulos
- 2nd Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine Section, Medical School, General University Hospital “Attikon”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Kallieri
- 2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, Medical School, General University Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Andriana I. Papaioannou
- 1st Respiratory Medicine Department, Athens Medical School, Sotiria Chest Hospital of Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Thomas Raptakis
- 2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, Medical School, General University Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Vasiliki Apollonatou
- 2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, Medical School, General University Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Elias Gialafos
- Department of Cardiology, Medical School, General University Hospital “Attikon”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- First Department of Neurology, Medical School, Aeginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Sofia Chatziioannou
- 2nd Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine Section, Medical School, General University Hospital “Attikon”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Division of Nuclear Medicine, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Johan Grunewald
- Respiratory Medicine Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Effrosyni D. Manali
- 2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, Medical School, General University Hospital Attikon, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
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Abstract
Sarcoidosis is characterized by noncaseating granulomas which form in almost any part of the body, primarily in the lungs and/or thoracic lymph nodes. Environmental exposures in genetically susceptible individuals are believed to cause sarcoidosis. There is variation in incidence and prevalence by region and race. Males and females are almost equally affected, although disease peaks at a later age in females than in males. The heterogeneity of presentation and disease course can make diagnosis and treatment challenging. Diagnosis is suggestive in a patient if one or more of the following is present: radiologic signs of sarcoidosis, evidence of systemic involvement, histologically confirmed noncaseating granulomas, sarcoidosis signs in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and low probability or exclusion of other causes of granulomatous inflammation. No sensitive or specific biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis exist, but there are several that can be used to support clinical decisions, such as serum angiotensin-converting enzyme levels, human leukocyte antigen types, and CD4 Vα2.3+ T cells in BALF. Corticosteroids remain the mainstay of treatment for symptomatic patients with severely affected or declining organ function. Sarcoidosis is associated with a range of adverse long-term outcomes and complications, and with great variation in prognosis between populations. New data and technologies have moved sarcoidosis research forward, increasing our understanding of the disease. However, there is still much left to be discovered. The pervading challenge is how to account for patient variability. Future studies should focus on how to optimize current tools and develop new approaches so that treatment and follow-up can be targeted to individuals with more precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marios Rossides
- Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pernilla Darlington
- Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Internal Medicine, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Susanna Kullberg
- Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Theme Inflammation and Ageing, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Medicine Solna, Respiratory Medicine Division & Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elizabeth V Arkema
- Department of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Division, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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