Work

The abundance of regulatory T cell subsets is associated with the clinical outcomes of sarcoidosis

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Some patients with sarcoidosis achieve spontaneous remission, whereas others repeatedly experience relapse. We examined differences in the clinical course of active sarcoidosis according to peripheral blood immunophenotypes before treatment. METHODS: This retrospective study compared peripheral blood immunophenotypes between patients with active sarcoidosis (n = 28) and healthy control subjects (n = 10). Patients with sarcoidosis were divided into the spontaneous remission group without treatment (n = 9), the non-relapsed group after treatment (n = 13), and the relapsed group after treatment (n = 6) and were compared for peripheral blood immunophenotypes and background characteristics at baseline. RESULTS: Patients with sarcoidosis showed increases in activated T helper (Th) 1 cells, activated Th17 cells, and regulatory T (Treg) cell subsets. The proportion of effector Treg cells was highest in the spontaneous remission group, and the proportion of non-suppressive Treg cells was highest in the relapsed group. No differences were observed in the proportions of other CD4+ T cell subsets. The cut-off values for predicting spontaneous remission and relapse were calculated for the effector Treg/non-suppressive Treg ratio. As a result, A ratio ≥1.469 predicted spontaneous remission (75%), while ≤0.722 predicted relapse (66.7%). CONCLUSION: Effector and non-suppressive Treg cell proportions before treatment may predict spontaneous remission and relapse in active sarcoidosis.

Source: Modern Rheumatology

DOI: 10.1093/mr/roae106