title: Regulatory T cell number in multiple sclerosis patients: A meta-analysis.
abstract: Regulatory T cells (Treg cells), defined as CD4(+) CD25(+) FoxP3(+) T cells by expression of CD4, high-affinity IL-2 receptor and the transcription factor, forkhead box P3 (FoxP3). They play a pivotal role in protecting individuals from autoimmunity and a growing body of evidence suggests their role in the prevention of multiple sclerosis development. However, there are discrepancies about the type of defect in the Treg cells of multiple sclerosis patients and especially whether the Treg number alteration could be contributed to multiple sclerosis pathogenesis. Indeed, whether low number of Treg cells can be a risk factor contributing to multiple sclerosis pathogenesis is the matter of debate and there is not any comprehensive agreement on it. Thus, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to precisely quantify the nature and magnitude of the association between Treg cell number and the risk ratio/odds ratio (OR) of multiple sclerosis in the case-control studies. Hence, medical databases of Embase, PubMed/Medline, PubMed, PubMed Central and SCOPUS were searched for empirical papers using "Regulatory T cell frequency", "Treg frequency" in combination with "multiple sclerosis". In the case-control studies, papers were reviewed for inclusion/exclusion criteria and 8 publications were included. Under random-effect model meta-analysis the data showed that the frequency of Treg cells was not a risk factor in multiple sclerosis using current laboratory methods.
authors: Department of Medical Sciences, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran. Electronic address: alincbc@gmail.com.
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Noori-Zadeh
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Seyed Alireza
authors: SA
authors: Mesbah-Namin
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Bistoon-Beigloo
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
authors: Salar
authors: S
authors: Bakhtiyari
authors: Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Hojjat-Allah
authors: HA
authors: Abbaszadeh
authors: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors: Shahram
authors: S
authors: Darabi
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Masoumeh
authors: M
authors: Rajabibazl
authors: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (ZUMS), Zanjan, Iran.
authors: Alireza
authors: A
authors: Abdanipour
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Case-control study; Meta-analysis; Multiple sclerosis; Regulatory T cells