Immune signaling pathways and cell expression is linked to pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Pulmonary fibrosis is one of the major manifestations of Interstitial lung diseases and causes significant morbidity and mortality. Transcriptomic analysis of immune cells&nbsp;can be useful in delineating the immunopathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. <b>Aim and objectives:</b> To analyze the transcriptomic data of BAL and peripheral blood samples of IPF patients and delineate the profile of various immune cell subsets and biological processes involved in the disease. <b>Methods:</b> Two GEO datasets GSE70866 (BAL; 45 IPF and 16 control), and GSE33566 (Peripheral Blood; 57 IPF and 15 control) from fibromine database were selected to analyse the DEGs with FC &gt; 1.5 and P &lt; 0.05. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed and the immune infiltration was checked by CIBERSORT. <b>Results:</b> GSE70866 had a total of 699 DEGs, while in GSE33566 1438 genes were differentially expressed. 68 common genes were found, many of them were involved in immune responses. GSEA analysis revealed that in BAL, positively enriched genes were associated with immune signaling pathways (FDR&lt;0.25). In PB, negatively enriched genes were mainly associated with immune, inflammatory, and cell survival/proliferation pathways. CIBERSORT analysis for BAL revealed lowered population of naive B cells (p=0.0001), CD4+ memory resting T cells (p=0.005), M1 macrophage (p=0.0005), and neutrophils (p=0.0007). In PB, there were increased monocytes (p=0.005), and neutrophils (p=0.02), while reduced CD4+ memory resting T cells (p=0.0009) were observed. <b>Conclusion:</b> Immune pathways and cells play key parts in pulmonary fibrosis. By studying these pathways and immune cells in detail, we can elucidate their role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of pulmonary fibrosis.