Changes in circulating follicular helper T cells and regulatory follicular T cells in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder
10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2017.03.012
- VernacularTitle:视神经脊髓炎谱系疾病患者循环滤泡辅助性T细胞和滤泡调节性T细胞的变化
- Author:
Cong ZHAO
;
Hongzeng LI
;
Chao MA
;
Bo XU
;
Peng GUO
;
Daidi ZHAO
;
Jun GUO
;
Zhuyi LI
- Keywords:
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder;
Follicular helper T cells;
Regulatory follicular T cells;
Interlukin-21
- From:
The Journal of Practical Medicine
2017;33(3):379-383
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To study the changes and significance of the frequencies of circulating follicular helper T cells (cTfh) and circulating regulatory follicular T cells (cTfr) as well as the cTfh/cTfr ratio in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).Methods The frequencies of cTfh,cTfr and B cells in patients with NMOSD and health controls(HCs) were measured by flow cytometry.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the level of IL-21 and AQP4-Ab in patients and HCs.Results The frequencies of cTfh and B cells,the cTfh/cTfr ratio and the plasma level of IL-21 werc significantly higher in the relapsing patients than those in the remitting patients and HCs(P ＜ 0.05),and the cTfr level in the relapsing patients was lower than that in the remitting patients and healthy population (P ＜ 0.05).But no statistical differences were observed in the above indexes between the remitting paticnts and HCs.There was also no significant difference in AQP4-Ab level between the patients with relapse and remission (P ＞ 0.05).The frequency of cTfh in the patients wasc positively correlated with the level of B cells and IL-21(P ＜ 0.05),and the frequency of cTfr was negatively correlated with B cells and IL-21 (P ＜ 0.05).The ratio of cTfh/cTfr was positively correlated with B cell frequency and IL-21 level (P ＜ 0.05).AQP4-Ab level had no correlation with the frequencies of cTfh cells and B cells,cTfh/cTfr ratio and IL-21 concentration (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The changes in the frequencies of cTfh and cTfr as well as the imbalanced cTfh/cTfr ratio may promote the activation of humoral immunein NMOSD and participate in the pathogenesis of this disease.
