Clinical significance and expression of T cell subsets in peripheral blood from patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Objecfive To study T cell subsets distribution in peripheral blood from patients with ankylosing spondylitis(AS)and the role of cell immunity in AS.Methods 30 patients with untreated active phase AS and 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled.The expression of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets were evaluated by flow eytome try.The correlation among T cell subsets and Bath AS function index(BASFI).Bath AS measurement index(BASMI),course of disease,age,ESR,hyper-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were analyzed.Results The level of CD4+ T cell and CD4/CD8+ratio were significantly lower than that of healthy volunteers[(29.24±9.22)% vs.(40.09±6.86) %,(0.96±0.49 ) vs.(1.70±0.67 ),P ＜ 0.01 ],and CD8+ T cell were significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers [(32.91±6.86) % vs.(25.60± 5.97 ) %,P ＜ 0.01 ].The level of CD4+ T cell subsets in peripheral blood of AS patients was negatively correlated with BASMI (r =-0.479,P ＜ 0.01 ),and CD8+ T cell subsets were positively correlated with ESR,hs-CRP,BASFI and BASMI ( r = 0.373,0.430,0.462,0.530,P ＜0.05 ).The ratio of CD4+/CD8+ was negatively correlated with hs-CRP,BASFI and BASMI (r = -0.465,- 0.473,- 0.426,P ＜ 0.05 ).CD4+,CD8+,ratio of CD4/CD8 were not significantly correlated with age and course of disease in patients with AS.Conclusion T cell subsets are significantly abnormal in peripheral blood of patients with AS,and the imbalance degree of T cell is correlated with severity and activity of AS,suggesting that T cell subsets imbalance plays an important role in the pathologensis of AS. Key words: Ankylosing spondylitis; T cell subsets; CD4+; CD8+