Enhanced Frequency but Preserved Th1/Tc1 Responses of Rhinovirus-Specific T Cells in COPD
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Immunology, Ophthalmology and ENT, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza Ramon y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- 2Pulmonology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, C/Profesor Martín Lagos s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- 3Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Pza Ramon y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- 4Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Pediatrics, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7TY, UK
Abstract
Viral infections, particularly by rhinoviruses (RVs), represent major triggers of acute exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the role of RV-specific T cell responses in COPD remains poorly characterized. Here, we investigated T cell recall responses to conserved RV-specific T cell epitopes in COPD patients and age-matched healthy controls using activation-induced marker and intracellular cytokine staining assays. The frequency of RV-specific CD4+ T cells was increased in COPD patients compared with healthy participants. RV-specific CD8+ T cells also tended to be increased in COPD participants, although the differences did not reach statistical significance. Functional T cell responses to RV-specific epitopes were biased toward IFN-γ and TNF-α production in COPD and healthy participants, with no significant differences between groups. Accordingly, there is a degree of functional dissociation between enhanced RV-specific CD4+ T cell recognition and cytokine responses in COPD. A modest inverse correlation, yet not statistically significant (p = 0.066), was observed between IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells and disease severity, as assessed by FEV1. Collectively, our findings suggest that T cell responses to conserved RV-specific epitopes are unlikely to be major drivers of COPD immunopathology, supporting their potential relevance for epitope-vaccine development in COPD.
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BibTeX
@article{fernandez2026enhanced,
title = {{Enhanced Frequency but Preserved Th1/Tc1 Responses of Rhinovirus-Specific T Cells in COPD}},
author = {Sara Alonso Fernandez and Raquel Reyes-Manzanas and Myriam Calle-Rubio and Juan Rodriguez-Hermosa and Esther M. Lafuente and Jesús Reiné and Pedro A. Reche},
journal = {Biomolecules},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/biom16101423},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/10/1423},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Enhanced Frequency but Preserved Th1/Tc1 Responses of Rhinovirus-Specific T Cells in COPD
AU - Sara Alonso Fernandez
AU - Raquel Reyes-Manzanas
AU - Myriam Calle-Rubio
AU - Juan Rodriguez-Hermosa
AU - Esther M. Lafuente
AU - Jesús Reiné
AU - Pedro A. Reche
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Biomolecules
DO - 10.3390/biom16101423
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/10/1423
AB - Viral infections, particularly by rhinoviruses (RVs), represent major triggers of acute exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the role of RV-specific T cell responses in COPD remains poorly characterized. Here, we investigated T cell recall responses to conserved RV-specific T cell epitopes in COPD patients and age-matched healthy controls using activation-induced marker and intracellular cytokine staining assays. The frequency of RV-specific CD4+ T cells was increased in COPD patients compared with healthy participants. RV-specific CD8+ T cells also tended to be increased in COPD participants, although the differences did not reach statistical significance. Functional T cell responses to RV-specific epitopes were biased toward IFN-γ and TNF-α production in COPD and healthy participants, with no significant differences between groups. Accordingly, there is a degree of functional dissociation between enhanced RV-specific CD4+ T cell recognition and cytokine responses in COPD. A modest inverse correlation, yet not statistically significant (p = 0.066), was observed between IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells and disease severity, as assessed by FEV1. Collectively, our findings suggest that T cell responses to conserved RV-specific epitopes are unlikely to be major drivers of COPD immunopathology, supporting their potential relevance for epitope-vaccine development in COPD.
SN - 2218-273X
ER -