title: Number and phenotype of rheumatoid arthritis patients' CD4+CD25hi regulatory T cells are not affected by adalimumab or etanercept.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the therapeutic effects of etanercept (ETA) or adalimumab (ADA) on the numbers and phenotypes of CD4+CD25hi Tregs in RA patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  RA patients received ADA (n = 28) or ETA (n = 20) and stable-dose MTX or LEF. Therapeutic responses were assessed with the 28-joint DAS (DAS-28) criteria after 12 weeks of treatment. Treg numbers and phenotypes, determined by flow cytometry using different gating strategies, were compared between responders and non-responders before and after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentages of good, moderate and non-responders among patients given ADA or ETA, respectively, were 46.5, 35.7 and 17.8% or 30, 20 and 50%, with respective mean (s.d.) pre-treatment CD4+CD25hi Treg percentages of 5.5 (0.04)% or 4.95 (0.02)%. Overall, for patients with active RA given ADA or ETA, neither TNF-α-blocking agent had an effect on Tregs percentage and absolute number. Moreover, CD4+CD25hi Treg counts remained unaffected in RA responders to ADA or ETA, compared with RA non-responders. Furthermore, the CD4+CD25hiCD45RA+, CD4+CD25hiCD45RO+ and CD4+CD25hiCD62L+ cell populations were unchanged by TNF-α-blocking agents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neither ADA nor ETA modified the percentages or absolute numbers of circulating CD4+CD25hi Tregs and their phenotypes after being administered for 6 and 12 weeks to RA patients.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00234234.
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U905, Institut Fédératif de Recherche Multidisciplinaire surles Peptides 23, Institute for Biomedical Research, University of Rouen, Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blache
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lequerré
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roucheux
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beutheu
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dedreux
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacquot
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Le Loët
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vittecoq
mesh_terms: D000068879:Adalimumab; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002452:Cell Count; D000068800:Etanercept; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; C508017:IL2RA protein, human; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D000068879:Adalimumab; D000068800:Etanercept