Causal Role of Immune Cells in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Overview of MR analyses process and major assumptions.

Figure 2. MR results of immune cell signatures with a causal relationship to COPD. From the inner to outer circles, they represent the p-value of weighted mode, simple mode, weighted median, MR-Egger, and inverse-variance weighted methods, respectively. The shades of color reflect the magnitude of the pvalue.

Figure 3. Forrest plot for summary causal effects of seven immune cell signatures on COPD risk.

Figure 4. Scatter plots of the MR analyses for the association of immune cell signatures and the risk of COPD.

Figure 5. Schematic diagram illustrating how immune cells act on the airways.

Table 1. The functions of these seven immune cells.

Cell type	Function
CD4+ T cell	Helper function, activation of B cells, facilitation of CD8 + T cell responses, regulation of immune responses, differentiation of T cell subsets, memory T cell formation, antiviral and antitumor immunity
CD14+ CD16+ monocyte	Antigen presentation, later stage of inflammatory response
CD14- CD16+ monocyte	Vascular patrol and surveillance, Tissue repair, Anti-inflammatory responses
CD14+ CD16- monocyte	Phagocytosis, antigen presentation, inflammatory responses
HLA DR on monocyte	Antigen presentation, activation of T cells, immune surveillance, inflammatory responses, immunomodulation
CD62L- myeloid DC AC	Migration and homing, antigen presentation, Co-stimulation, cytokine production, immunoregulatory functions
HVEM on naive CD4+ cell	Co-stimulation, differentiation, immune regulation, cell survival and activation, interactions with checkpoint pathways

Data availability

The data that supports the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.