Graduate Research Associate Ohio State Univ. Col. of Med. Columbus, Ohio, United States
Disclosure(s):
Zachary Miller, Bachelor of Science: No relevant disclosure to display
Introduction/Rationale: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an age-related lung disease characterized by the accumulation of senescent cells that deposit extracellular matrix components and soluble proteins, thereby altering the microenvironment. Our previous data indicate a reduced proportion of cytotoxic NK cells in the lungs of patients with IPF. Furthermore, mouse models of lung fibrosis demonstrate that depletion of total NK cells leads to the persistence of senescent cells and exacerbated fibrosis. We postulate that aging and local microenvironmental factors impair the ability of NK cells to eliminate senescent cells.
Methods: To characterize human IPF cells, single-cell suspensions from lymph nodes and lungs of healthy individuals and IPF patients were analyzed using in vitro cytotoxicity assays, flow cytometry, and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).
Results: scRNA-seq analysis of lung cell suspensions from healthy and IPF donors revealed that IPF NK cells exhibit reduced expression of cytotoxicity-related genes and increased expression of PD-1, a key regulator of immune cell function. When NK cells were pre-treated with conditioned media from human lung fibroblasts (hLF-CM), only conditioned media derived from IPF fibroblasts induced PD-1 expression in NK cells. Flow cytometry and culture assays further demonstrated that senescent IPF lung fibroblasts express high levels of PD-L1, which in turn suppresses NK cell cytotoxic activity.
Conclusion: Collectively, our findings suggest that the IPF lung microenvironment modulates NK cell function, promoting the accumulation of pro-fibrotic senescent fibroblasts. These results support the potential use of PD-L1 inhibitors to restore NK cell activity and provide a novel therapeutic strategy for IPF.
