title: Evaluation of CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ regulatory T cells during treatment of patients with brucellosis.
abstract: Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) plays a critical role in the control of brucellosis. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have a functional character in modulating the balance between host immune response and tolerance, which can eventually lead to chronic infection or relapse. The aim of this study was to assess the alteration of Tregs in cases of brucellosis before and after treatment. Thirty cases of acute brucellosis with the mean age of 41.03±15.15 years (case group) and 30 healthy persons with the mean age of 40.63±13.95 years (control group) were selected and assessed. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from peripheral blood of all individuals. We analyzed the alteration of Treg cell count using flow cytometry for CD4, CD25, and FoxP3 markers. The level of CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ Treg cells was increased in active patients compared with controls (2.5±0.99% vs 1.6±0.84%, p= 0.0004), but it had declined in the treated cases (1.83±0.73%, p=0.02). The level of Tregs was elevated in three relapsed cases. The frequency of Tregs and Treg/Teff (effector T cell) ratio was correlated with inverse serum agglutination test (SAT) and, 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) titers as markers of treatment in brucellosis. Based on our findings, we suggest that regulatory cells, such as CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ Treg cells, may contribute to the development of infection processes involving immune responses in brucellosis, and evaluation of regulatory T-cell levels may be a potential diagnostic strategy for the treatment outcome in chronic and relapsed cases of brucellosis.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hasanjani Roushan
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bayani
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soleimani Amiri
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadnia-Afrouzi
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Nouri
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebrahimpour
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C508017:IL2RA protein, human; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit