Cellular Immune Dysfunction in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Katharina Ludwig; Tilman Huppertz; Markus Radsak; Haralampos Gouveris

doi:10.3389/fsurg.2022.890377

Cellular Immune Dysfunction in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Front Surg. 2022 Jul 6:9:890377. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.890377. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Katharina Ludwig¹, Tilman Huppertz¹, Markus Radsak², Haralampos Gouveris¹

Affiliations

¹ Sleep Medicine Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
² IIIrd Department of Medicine, Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. Repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep cause a brief but recurrent decrease in oxygen saturation in organs and tissues (chronic intermittent tissue hypoxia). Many studies have proven a pro-inflammatory status in OSA patients. However, few reports are available on the effects of OSA on the cellular immune system, mostly focusing on single immune cell types and their subtypes. The aim of this Mini-Review is to summarize these reports, as OSA is associated with a high prevalence and comorbidities such as atherosclerosis, which are known to involve the cellular immune system.

Keywords: B cells; T cells; cellular immune system; dendritic cells; interleukins; monocytes; natural killer cells; obstructive sleep apnea.

Publication types

Review