Increased pro-inflammatory cytokine-secreting regulatory T cells are correlated with the plasticity of T helper cell differentiation and reflect disease status in asthma

• Published in: Respiratory medicine 2018-10, Vol.143, p.129-138
• Main Authors: Xin, Lei, Gao, Junjie, Ge, Xiahui, Tian, Chenxuan, Ma, Weirong, Tian, Zhigang, Zheng, Xiwei, Hou, Jia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asthma; CD25 antigen; CD4 antigen; CD45RA antigen; Cell differentiation; Consent; Correlation; Corticoids; Corticosteroids; Cytokines; Differentiation (biology); Ethics; Flow cytometry; Foxp3 protein; Helper cells; Hou, Jia (Jenny); Immunoregulation; Inflammation; Interferon; Interleukin 17; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Pathogenesis; Patients; Phenotyping; Plastic properties; Plasticity; Regulatory T cells; Subpopulations; Th1; Th17
• ISSN: 0954-6111; 1532-3064
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2018.09.007

Human regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a heterogeneous population which consists of three distinct subpopulations: CD25+CD45RA+ resting Treg (rTreg) cells; CD25hiCD45RA− activated Treg (aTreg) cells, which are both suppressive; and CD25+CD45RA− cytokine-secreting T cells with pro-inflammatory capacity. We investigated variation in peripheral Treg subpopulations of asthma and explored their potential roles in asthma inflammation. Twenty-eight mild asthma patients, 26 moderate asthma patients, 18 severe asthma patients, and 36 healthy controls were recruited for a cross-sectional study. Phenotyping of peripheral CD4+ Tregs was performed based on flow cytometry results. The proportions of rTreg and aTreg cells among CD4+ T cells were higher in mild and moderate asthma patients than in healthy controls. All three groups of asthmatics had a higher proportion of pro-inflammatory Tregs than healthy controls, and these increased with asthma severity. The proportion of IL-17-producing Foxp3+ cells and IFN-ɤ-producing Foxp3+ cells strongly correlated with T helper 17 (Th17) cells (r = 0.66, p