Men over 40 with severe asthma may have more specialized T-cells

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In some cases, men who have specialized T-cells may be more susceptible to severe asthma attacks. That’s the word from an international team of scientists representing the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and California’s La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI). Specifically, researchers identified a group of immune cells in connection to the severity of attacks.

According to the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation WATCH study, the cells, which have been identified as cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T-cells, are present in the lungs and tied to men who develop asthma later in life, particularly after the age of 40. The study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was led by LJI Research Assistant Professor Gregory Seumois, PhD, and LJI Professor Pandurangan Vijayanand, MD, PhD.

The result of this increased population of T-cells in the lungs may result in hard-to-treat and possibly fatal asthma attacks. It appears that these cells do not respond to immunosuppressant asthma therapy, according to the study.

The multiyear study tracked hundreds of asthma patients representing different genders, ages and disease severity.

Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy, associate professor at the University of Southhampton and a researcher at the NIHR Southhampton Biomedical Research Centre, directed the immune cell activity study.

Known as “memory” cells, T-cells protect the body from viruses and bacteria. However, they are problematic in asthma. When confronted with harmless molecules, such as pollen, these T-cells produce a dangerous inflammatory response.

According to the study, men who developed asthma later in life presented with dramatic number of these potentially harmful T-cells. Their lungs should have presented with a mix of CD4+ T-cell types. In this study, more than 65% of their cells were cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T-cells.

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