Effect of high-dose dexamethasone on Treg and Foxp3 in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura

Objective:To investigate the expressions of regulatory T cells(Treg) and Foxp3 before and after high-dose dexamethasone therapy in immune thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP).Methods: Flow cytometry was used to analyze the expression of Treg and Foxp3 on lymphocyte of peripheral blood in ITP patient.Then the expression was compared with health people.At the same time,the expression of Treg and Foxp3 in ITP patients before and after therapy with high-dose dexamethasone was recorded to find the influence of hormonotherapy on body immunity.Results: The percentage of CD4+T cells in ITP patients was significantly lower than in control group(P0.05),The amount of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells and the ratio of CD4+CD25+ Treg to total CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood of ITP patients were obviously lower than those of the controls(P0.05).The expression of FoxP3 was significantly lower in ITP patients before treatment compared with that in controls(P0.05).After treatment with dexamethasone,the levels were significantly increased,but still lower than the controls(P0.05).Conclusion: The percentages of Foxp3 and CD4+CD25+ Treg decreased in ITP patients.High-dose dexamethasone therapy might play a role in ITP treatment by up-regulating amount of Treg cells and Foxp3 expression.