Morpho-biochemical Characteristics of Autophagy of Lymphocytes from Peripheral Blood of Patients with Moderate and Severe Bronchial Asthma

Abstract

The increased interest in the process of autophagy in various physiological and pathological conditions is the focus of this study. Therefore, the aim was to assess the involvement of lymphocyte autophagy in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. Forty-five patients with mild persistent asthma, 45 patients with severe persistent asthma, and 45 normal healthy controls were involved in this study. Autophagy was evaluated based on the expression of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) by western blot, Fluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry. Transmission Electron Microscopy was used to detect autophagosome. The results showed that autophagy was activated in T-cells of patients with mild and severe asthma compared to the normal healthy control. Stress conditions induced autophagy in T-cells of asthmatic patients with mild and severe form, but not in the control group. Dexamethasone treatment of T-cells stimulated apoptosis in mild asthma patients and in the control group but in the group with severe asthma, dexamethasone induced autophagy. Thus, autophagy could play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma especially of severe asthma, and may contribute to the survival and the activation of T-lymphocyte in patients with severe asthma.