Increased expression of CD30 and CD57 molecules on CD4⁺ T cells from children with atopic asthma: A preliminary report

T helper type 2 (Th2) cells play an important role in the onset and persistence of allergic airway inflammation. Consequently, many authors have attempted to identify cell surface markers associated with a Th2 phenotype. This work was aimed at correlating CD30 and CD57 expression on CD4⁺ T cells with interleukin (IL)-4 production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from allergic patients. PBMCs from 17 children with atopic asthma and 12 nonatopic healthy control children were analyzed. The CD28, CD30, CD40L, CD57, CD62L, CD69, IL-4, and IFN-gamma expressions on CD4⁺ T cells were determined by double immunofluorescence and flow cytometry in PBMCs ex vivo and after phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate plus ionomycin (PMA/I) stimulation. An increased percentage of peripheral CD4⁺CD30⁺ T cells was observed in asthmatic patients (p < 0.001). In addition, the percentage of CD4⁺ T cells expressing IL-4, IFN-gamma, CD30, CD40L, CD57, or CD69 significantly increased (p < 0.01) after PMA/I stimulation, in asthmatic patients. The CD30 expression on CD4⁺ T cells from asthmatic patients, after stimulation, correlated with both IL-4 and IFN-gamma production, whereas CD57 expression only correlated with IL-4 production. These data suggest that the expression of CD30 and CD57 cell markers on T cells could reflect circulating effector T cell early activation in the allergic airway disease.