title: Differential Frequency of CD8+ T Cell Subsets in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Various Clinical Patterns.
abstract: Recent evidence points to a pathogenic role for CD8+ cytotoxic T (Tc) cells in Multiple sclerosis (MS). Based on cytokine profile, Tc cells can be divided into different subsets: IFN-γ (Tc1), IL-4 (Tc2), IL-10 (Tc10), IL-17 (Tc17), IL-21 (Tc21), IL-22 (Tc22) and TNF-α producing cells. In this study we evaluated the frequency of Tc cell subsets and the serum level of Tc17 differentiation cytokines in MS patients with different clinical patterns. We analyzed Tc cell subsets percentage in peripheral blood of relapsing-remitting (RRMS) (n = 28), secondary-progressive (SPMS) (n = 10) and primary-progressive (PPMS) (n = 4) MS patients in comparison to healthy controls (n = 15) using flow cytometry. Serum level of TGF-β, IL-6 and IL-23 were measured by ELISA. We showed elevated levels of Tc1 and Tc17 cells in SPMS and RRMS patients in relapse phase, respectively (P = 0.04). Interestingly, the percentage of TNF-α producing CD8+ T cells in relapse and remission phase of RRMS and SPMS patients were higher than controls (P = 0.01, P = 0.004, P = 0.01, respectively) and Tc21 increased in remission phase of RRMS compared to SPMS (P = 0.03). We also found higher frequency of CD8+ IFN-γ+ TNF-α+ IL-17+ T cells in relapse phase of RRMS compared to remission phase, SPMS patients and controls (P = 0.01, P = 0.004 and P = 0.02, respectively). TGF- β increased in sera of RRMS patients in remission phase (P = 0.03) and SPMS (P = 0.05) compared to healthy subjects. Increased level of Tc17 and CD8+ IFN-γ+ TNF-α+ IL-17+ T cells in relapse phase highlights the critical role of IL-17 in RRMS pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Salehi
authors.affiliation: MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Rozita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Doosti
authors.affiliation: Pathophysiology laboratory, Sina hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beheshti
authors.affiliation: Flow Cytometry laboratory, Department of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Janzamin
authors.affiliation: MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sahraian
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines