The alveolar immune cell landscape is dysregulated in checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis (CIP) is a highly morbid complication of immune checkpoint immunotherapy (ICI), one which precludes the continuation of ICI. Yet, the mechanistic underpinnings of CIP are unknown.

Methods

To better understand the mechanism of lung injury in CIP, we prospectively collected bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples in ICI-treated patients with (n=12) and without CIP (n=6), prior to initiation of first-line therapy for CIP (high dose corticosteroids. We analyzed BAL immune cell populations using a combination of traditional multicolor flow cytometry gating, unsupervised clustering analysis and BAL supernatant cytokine measurements.

Results

We found increased BAL lymphocytosis, predominantly CD4+ T cells, in CIP. Specifically, we obs

SUBMITTER: Suresh K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6763233 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature