Department of Rheumatology, Capital Medical University Affiliated Anzhen Hospital, Beijing, China.
Department of Rheumatology, Capital Medical University Affiliated Anzhen Hospital, Beijing, and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Vessel Disease, China.
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2020 Mar-Apr;38 Suppl 124(2):84-90. Epub 2020 Mar 13.
Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) is a chronic, large vessel systemic vasculitis. Immune inflammatory response plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of TAK. Natural killer (NK) cells are one of the major immunoregulatory cell groups of the immune system, but their role in TAK pathogenesis is unclear. We aimed to investigate the role of peripheral blood NK cells in TAK pathogenesis.
The study consisted of 47 TAK patients and 27 healthy controls. Peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells and their CD56Dim/CD56Bright subsets were phenotyped using CD3 and CD56 surface markers. Functional potential was assessed by production of granzyme B, perforin and interferon (IFN)-γ.
TAK patients had decreased numbers of NK cells in the peripheral blood (p<0.001) relative to healthy controls. The percentages of CD56Bright (p<0.05) and CD56Dim NK cells (p<0.001) from TAK patients were also decreased. The expressions of Granzyme B (p<0.001), Perforin (p<0.001) in NK cells were lower in TAK patients to compared control group, but no differences in the percentage of IFN-γ producing cells was observed between TAK patients and healthy control. There is no difference in the percentage of NK cells or CD56Bright or CD56Dim NK cells between active and inactive TAK. However, granzyme B-expressing NK cell percentage was significantly decreased in active TAK compared to inactive TAK (p<0.05).
Our findings concluded that NK cell numbers and cytotoxicity are reduced in TAK patients.
Takayasu 动脉炎（TAK）是一种慢性、大血管系统性血管炎。免疫炎症反应在 TAK 的发病机制中起着至关重要的作用。自然杀伤（NK）细胞是免疫系统中主要的免疫调节细胞群之一，但它们在 TAK 发病机制中的作用尚不清楚。我们旨在研究外周血 NK 细胞在 TAK 发病机制中的作用。
该研究包括 47 例 TAK 患者和 27 名健康对照者。使用 CD3 和 CD56 表面标志物对外周血自然杀伤（NK）细胞及其 CD56Dim/CD56Bright 亚群进行表型分析。通过产生颗粒酶 B、穿孔素和干扰素（IFN）-γ来评估功能潜力。
与健康对照组相比，TAK 患者外周血 NK 细胞数量减少（p<0.001）。TAK 患者的 CD56Bright（p<0.05）和 CD56Dim NK 细胞百分比（p<0.001）也降低。与对照组相比，NK 细胞中 Granzyme B（p<0.001）和 Perforin（p<0.001）的表达较低，但 TAK 患者和健康对照组之间 IFN-γ产生细胞的百分比没有差异。在活动期和非活动期 TAK 患者之间，NK 细胞、CD56Bright 或 CD56Dim NK 细胞的百分比没有差异。然而，与非活动期 TAK 相比，活动期 TAK 中表达 granzyme B 的 NK 细胞百分比显著降低（p<0.05）。
我们的研究结果表明，TAK 患者的 NK 细胞数量和细胞毒性降低。
