Author/Authors :
Delavari, Samaneh Department of Immunology - School of Medicine - Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences - Ahvaz, Iran , Ghafourian, Mehri Department of Immunology - School of Medicine - Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences - Ahvaz, Iran , Rajaei, Elham Department of Internal Medicine - School of Medicine - Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences - Ahvaz, Iran , Mowla, Karim Department of Internal Medicine - School of Medicine - Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences - Ahvaz, Iran , Ghadiri, Ata Department of Immunology - School of Medicine - Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences - Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract :
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common
rheumatoid disease of unknown etiology, determined by the
articular cartilage destruction and bone loss. The hallmark of RA
is the defect in immune tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Treg) play a
critical role in the protection of peripheral tolerance.
Objective: To assess the percentage of CD4+/CD25+/high/
CD127low/- Treg cells in peripheral blood of RA patients as compared
with the healthy individuals.
Methods: The number of CD4+/CD25+/high/CD127low/- Treg cells was
assessed by multicolor flow cytometry. The clinical disease activity
of RA patients was determined by disease activity score 28 (DAS-
28). The correlations of DAS-28 and erythrocyte sedimentation
rate (ESR) with Treg cells were evaluated.
Results: The percentage of CD4+/CD25+/high/CD127low/- Treg cells in
peripheral blood of RA patients significantly decreased as compared
with the healthy individuals (P= 0.0002). The percentage of CD4+/
CD25+/high/CD127low/- Treg cells negatively correlated with DAS-28
and ESR.
Conclusion: This study concludes that the defect of Treg cells plays
a vital role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Further studies are
necessary to determine the role of Treg cells in the clinical course
of rheumatoid arthritis
Keywords :
Rheumatoid Arthritis , Regulatory T Cells , Flow Cytometry , DAS-28
