title: Expression of chemokine receptors on Th1/Th2 CD4+ lymphocytes in patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Th1 cells preferentially express CXCR3, CCR5 and CCR6, while CCR3 and CCR4 are predominantly expressed by Th2 cell subsets. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a Th1 cell-dependant chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, and immunomudolatory cytokines could alter the chemokine expression pattern of these lymphocyte subsets.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was performed to measure chemokine receptor expression on CD4 T cells for evaluation of Th1/Th2 dominantly in IFN-β treated patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Flowcytometry was used to detect chemokine receptor expression on CD4 T cell population in PBMCs obtained from MS and healthy control groups. Twenty six MS patients participated in this study before and after IFN-β therapy and the same number of healthy individuals were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of lymphocytes was 41.28% ± 10.30% 2 in the blood of MS group compared with 36.88% ± 5.51% in the control group (p=0.017). The CD4+CXCR3+ cells were 18.86% ± 8.46% in healthy group, 30.78% ± 9.8% in pre-treated MS patients and 21.06% ± 9.23% in post-treated group (p<0.001). The CD4+CCR4+ cell subsets were 27.35% ± 10.15% in healthy group; 28.17% ± 8.9% in pre-treated group and 34.20% ± 8.96% in the post-IFN-β treatment group. The subset of CD4+CCR4+ was found to be dominant after IFN-β therapy in comparison with the control group (p<0.001). CD4+CCR5+ percentage was 1.24% ± 0.92% in the healthy people, 1.23% ± 0.71% in the MS patients and 0.76% ± 0.49% in post-treatment status (p=0.003). CD4+CCR3+ cell subsets were 0.62% ± 0.67% in control group, 0.28% ± 0.26% in the MS patients (p=0.022) and 0.39% ± 0.54% in IFN-β treated patients (p=0.334). An association was found for CXCR3 expression in pre- and post-treatment status (r=0.840, p<0.001) as well as for CCR4+ expression (r=0.712, p<0.001) in the same groups. The Th1 response was dominant in pre-treatment states, and then it shifted to a Th2 dominant state after IFN-β treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that the chemokine receptor expression of Th1/Th2 cell subsets could be used for monitoring and the evaluation of the MS disease status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Isfahan Medical School, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Andalib@med.mui.ac.ir
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andalib
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Doulabi
authors.forename: Mohamadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tazhibi
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rezaie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine / Q000276:immunology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019707:Receptors, Chemokine; D016899:Interferon-beta