Airway Macrophages Encompass Transcriptionally and Functionally Distinct Subsets Altered by Smoking.

ABSTRACT: Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are functionally important innate cells involved in lung homeostasis and immunity and whose diversity in health and disease is a subject of intense investigations. Yet, it remains unclear to what extent conditions like smoking or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) trigger changes in the AM compartment. Here, we aimed to explore heterogeneity of human AMs isolated from healthy nonsmokers, smokers without COPD, and smokers with COPD by analyzing BAL fluid cells by flow cytometry and bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing. We found that subpopulations of BAL fluid CD206⁺ macrophages could be distinguished based on their degree of autofluorescence in each subject analyzed. CD206⁺ autofluorescent^high AMs were identified as class

SUBMITTER: Liegeois M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9348561 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature