Division of Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Immunol Lett. 2017 Sep;189:101-108. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2017.04.010. Epub 2017 Apr 18.
Follicular helper T (T) cells play crucial role in B-cell differentiation and antibody production. Although, atopic dermatitis (AD) is often associated with increased serum IgE levels, B-cell mediated responses have not been studied thoroughly. The aim of our study was to investigate the proportion of T-like cells in the disease. Twelve children and 17 adults with AD as well as 14 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The frequency of CD4CXCR5ICOSPD-1 T-like cells and their IL-21 cytokine production were determined by flow cytometry. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on skin biopsy specimens from AD patients for the detection of T markers. The percentages and absolute numbers of circulating T-like cells were significantly increased in children with AD compared to adult patients and healthy controls. IL-21 cytokine production of T-like cells was also elevated and showed a strong positive correlation with paediatric patients' SCORAD index. The expression of T-specific markers showed only a non-specific scattered pattern in skin biopsy specimens. This is the first study to demonstrate that T-like cells expanded in the peripheral blood of children with AD compared to adults. These results reinforce the importance of further investigations on T-like cells in different phenotypes and endotypes of AD.
滤泡辅助 T（T）细胞在 B 细胞分化和抗体产生中发挥关键作用。虽然特应性皮炎（AD）常与血清 IgE 水平升高有关，但 B 细胞介导的反应尚未得到深入研究。我们的研究旨在探讨 T 样细胞在疾病中的比例。本研究纳入了 12 名儿童和 17 名成人 AD 患者以及 14 名健康对照者。通过流式细胞术测定 CD4CXCR5ICOSPD-1 T 样细胞的频率及其 IL-21 细胞因子的产生。对 AD 患者的皮肤活检标本进行免疫组织化学分析以检测 T 标志物。与成年患者和健康对照组相比，AD 儿童的循环 T 样细胞的百分比和绝对数量明显增加。T 样细胞的 IL-21 细胞因子的产生也升高，并与儿科患者的 SCORAD 指数呈强烈正相关。T 特异性标志物的表达仅在皮肤活检标本中呈非特异性散在模式。这是第一项研究表明，与成年患者相比，AD 儿童外周血中 T 样细胞扩增。这些结果强调了在不同表型和 AD 内型中进一步研究 T 样细胞的重要性。
