Decreased CD200R expression on monocyte-derived macrophages correlates with Th17/Treg imbalance and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
OBJECTIVE
CD200 is expressed on various cell types, including T cells, while the CD200 receptor (CD200R) is expressed on myeloid cells such as monocytes-derived macrophages (MDMs). The CD200-CD200R interaction has been shown to play an important role in the prevention of autoimmune disease. Thus, we hypothesized that CD200/CD200R1 is involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).


METHODS
In total, 35 RA patients and 17 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study. CD200/CD200R1 expression and Th17/Treg were examined by flow cytometry. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-2, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-4 and IL-10 were detected by ELISA. Disease activity was evaluated according to the C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) and 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28) scores.


RESULTS
Compared with HCs, RA patients exhibited a significantly decreased level of CD200R1 on MDMs. CD200R1 expression correlated negatively with DAS28, ESR, and CRP levels. This abnormal expression was associated with Th17/Treg imbalance in the active RA patients. However, expression of CD200R1 was not correlated with Th1 (IL-2, IFN-γ) or Th2 (IL-4, IL-10) cytokine responses.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we demonstrate a significant correlation between CD200R1(+) cells and disease severity in RA patients, thus indicating the relevance of the CD200/CD200R1 signaling pathway's potential involvement in the pathogenesis of RA.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Jie Fang Road 88#, Hangzhou, 310009, People's Republic of China, gaosong78@126.com.
Song
S
Gao
Bing
B
Hao
Xu Feng
XF
Yang
Wei Qian
WQ
Chen
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology; D064446:Orexin Receptors; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D015703:Antigens, CD; D000954:Antigens, Surface; C477337:CD200R1 protein, human; D016207:Cytokines; D064446:Orexin Receptors; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; C042739:antigens, CD200