RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Intracytoplasmic Cytokine Expression and T Cell Subset Distribution in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 2372
OP 2375
DO 10.3899/jrheum.070839
VO 35
IS 12
A1 SÁNDOR SZÁNTÓ
A1 MAGDOLNA ALEKSZA
A1 ERZSÉBET MIHÁLY
A1 GABRIELLA LAKOS
A1 ZOLTÁN SZABÓ
A1 ANIKÓ VÉGVÁRI
A1 SÁNDOR SIPKA
A1 ZOLTÁN SZEKANECZ
YR 2008
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/35/12/2372.abstract
AB Objective To determine the role of inflammatory mediators in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), we investigated peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and their intracellular cytokine production. Methods The percentages of T and B lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, activated T lymphocytes, CD4+ T helper (Th), and CD8+ T cytotoxic (Tc) cells were determined by flow cytometry in 42 patients with AS compared to 52 healthy controls. In order to assess circulating Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 subsets, we used a whole-blood cytometric assay based on the intracellular interferon-γ, interleukin 4 (IL-4), and IL-10 expression of the cells. Results In the peripheral blood, the frequencies of CD4+ T helper and CD56+ NK cells were higher in AS (54.8% and 16.2%, respectively) compared to controls (45.3% and 10.8%) (p < 0.05). The frequencies of Th0 (1.9% vs 0.8%) and Tc0 (2.1% vs 0.8%) cells were higher, while that of Tc1 cells was lower (26.6% vs 40.1%) in patients with AS versus controls (p < 0.05). The percentage of IL-10-producing Tc cells was significantly higher in AS (18.4%) versus controls (8.5%) (p < 0.05). Finally, the active phase of AS was associated with significantly lower percentage of IL-10-producing Tc cells in the peripheral blood (6.6%) compared to patients with inactive AS (23.1%). Conclusion Our results provide further evidence for an altered T cell subset distribution and intracytoplasmic cytokine balance in AS.