title: Circulating follicular helper T cells in Crohn's disease (CD) and CD-associated colorectal cancer.
abstract: Follicular helper T cells (Tfh) represent a distinct subset of CD4+ T cells specialized in providing help to B lymphocytes. Studies have indicated that Tfh in circulating blood can act as a prognostic marker for diseases. In the current study, we investigated the percentages of circulating Tfh (CTfh) in Crohn's disease (CD) and CD-associated colorectal cancer (CRC). CTfh and it subtypes were determined by measuring CD3, CD4, CXCR5, CXCR3, and CCR6 using flow cytometry in 32 healthy controls and 78 CD patients, which included 16 CD-associated CRC. Data showed that proportion of CTfh in CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in CD patients (9.8 %) than in controls (5.1 %) (p < 0.01). Further analysis revealed that the upregulation of CTfh was contributed by CTfh-Th1 subtype and CTfh-Th17 subtype. Investigating the behavior of the patients demonstrated that prevalence of CTfh was significantly elevated in penetrating CD (20.9 %) than inflammatory CD (8.2 %) or stricturing CD (7.5 %). In addition, we analyzed CTfh in CD-associated CRC, and identified that patients with CRC had 1.59-fold higher percentage of CTfh than patients without CRC (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the distribution of CTfh subsets was significantly altered in patients with the cancer. This study suggests the involvement of CTfh in CD and CD-associated CRC, in which the effect of CTfh is partially different between these two diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 Zhong Shan Road East, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China.
authors.forename: Zhenlong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yanqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054399:Receptors, CCR6 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D054367:Receptors, CXCR3 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D054380:Receptors, CXCR5 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C106311:CCR6 protein, human; D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; C515187:CXCR3 protein, human; C095085:CXCR5 protein, human; D054399:Receptors, CCR6; D054367:Receptors, CXCR3; D054380:Receptors, CXCR5