CD8(+) T cell subsets and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

COPD is a debilitating and progressive condition in which the airways becom e irreversibly obstructed and the lungs progressively damaged. Unlike asthm a, we know little about the cells that initiate and drive this process. Res earch has shown that CD8(+) T cells are overrepresented in the lungs of pat ients with COPD and that they are inversely related to lung function. Howev er, not all CD8(+) T cells are alike and subsets that make IFN-gamma but no t IL-4 (Tc1), IL-4 but not IFN-gamma (Tc2) as well as those that make both (Tc0) have been described. This article focuses on the characteristics of C D8(+) T cell subsets and considers their potential contribution to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).