title: Lymphocyte subsets in primary immune thrombocytopenia.
abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the clinical significance of T-lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of patients with adult primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in an active phase. T-lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of 90 ITP patients in the active phase and 59 normal controls were detected by flow cytometry. ITP patients were treated with a conventional dose of corticosteroids, and therapeutic response was evaluated after 3 months. The level of CD4 T lymphocytes (35.7 ± 4.6%) and natural killer cells (13.1 ± 2.1%) in the active ITP patients was lower compared with the control group (40.4 ± 3.7% and 23.2 ± 1.1%, respectively, P < 0.05 for both). The level of CD8 T lymphocytes (30.11 ± 4.50%) in ITP showed a significantly wider distribution than that in the normal controls (25.5 ± 5.91%, P < 0.05). Additionally, the patients with higher levels of CD4 T cells were less likely to respond to corticosteroids (r = 0.69, P = 0.04). The detection of immunocyte subsets might be helpful for the ITP patients concerning their diagnosis and determination of therapeutic outcome.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Hematology bClinical laboratory, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.forename: Zhang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yan-xiang
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shan-shan
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ju-mei
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000473:pathology*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D007136:Immunoglobulins