Background: Circulating monocytes may be subdivided according to the presence or absence of the Fcgamma receptor CD16 and the neural cell adhesion molecule CD56. Monocytes classified into these subpopulations are characterized by distinct phenotypic and functional features. We hypothesized that patients with active Crohn's disease differ in their peripheral monocyte subpopulations.
Methods: Using flow cytometry we investigated the expression of CD16 and CD56 on circulating monocytes in 11 patients with active Crohn's disease and 11 controls. These monocyte subpopulations were then analyzed for expression of the chemokine receptor fractalkine, CX(3)CR1, and the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, CCR2.
Results: We found a median 3.7-fold increase in the number of CD16(+) monocytes related to the population with high expression of the pattern recognition receptor CD14 compared to that in the controls (P < 0.001). By studying the percentage of monocytes expressing CX(3)CR1, and their relative fluorescence intensity (RFI), we found significant differences, with both the highest percentage and the highest RFI in the CD14(low)CD16(+) subpopulation, whereas the CD14(high)CD16(+) subgroup represented an intermediate population. Inversely, CCR2 expression was highest in the populations with high expression of CD14, whereas the CD14(low)CD16(+) subpopulation showed the lowest percentage and the lowest RFI for CCR2. We found the percentage of CD14(+)CD56(+) monocytes in patients with active Crohn's disease to be increased 2.7 times compared to the controls (P = 0.011).
Conclusions: These results show that subsets of peripheral monocytes with a more mature phenotype are expanded in patients with active Crohn's disease.