title: Impaired CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cell activity in the peripheral blood of patients with autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells exert an immune regulatory function and thus play an important role in the control of self-reactivity in the pathogenesis of autoimmune inflammatory conditions. The aim of the study presented here is to perform a quantitative and functional analyses of these cells in patients with autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss (ASNHL). T cell subsets (CD4+CD25+, CD4+CD25(high), CD4+, and CD8+) from the peripheral blood of 17 patients with ASNHL, 16 patients with noise induced hearing loss (NHL), and 100 normal controls were analyzed by flow cytometry. The CD4/CD8 ratio was also analyzed. In addition, the suppressive capability of CD4+CD25+ T cells was tested in vitro by measuring their ability to suppress the proliferation and IFN-gamma secretion of CD4+CD25- T cells. No significant difference was found in the T cell subsets of ASNHL patients compared to normal controls or NHL patients, except that the proportion of CD4+ T cells was elevated in ASNHL patients. However, we did observe defective regulatory function of CD4+CD25+ T cells in patients with ASNHL. Our data supported the idea that CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells played an immunosuppressive function in the periphery. The impaired suppressive activity of these cells may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of ASNHL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wen Hua Xi Road 107, Jinan, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Han Bing
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hai Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: An Ting
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit; D007371:Interferon-gamma