International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 14, Issue 9 , Pages e815-e822, September 2010

Decrease in CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg cells after pulmonary resection in the treatment of cavity multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

  • Ying E. Wu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Wen Guang Peng

      Affiliations

    • Department of Thoracic Medicine, The Third People's Hospital of Shantou City, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Ying Mu Cai

      Affiliations

    • Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Gao Zhe Zheng

      Affiliations

    • Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Geng Long Zheng

      Affiliations

    • Guangdong Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Imaging, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Jing Hua Lin

      Affiliations

    • Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Su Wei Zhang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
  • ,
  • Ke Li

      Affiliations

    • Department of Preventive Medicine, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road 22, Shantou, Guangdong, 515031, China
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +86 754 88900445; fax: +86 754 88557562.

Received 21 September 2009; received in revised form 3 February 2010; accepted 6 April 2010. published online 23 July 2010.

Summary 

Objectives

Immune regulatory mechanisms may limit the immunopathologic condition of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and suppress cellular immune responses in the host. We investigated the CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ circulating regulatory T cells (Treg) in patients with cavity multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) before and after surgery.

Methods

We compared the proportion of Treg cells in 13 patients with cavity MDR-TB pre- and postoperatively and in 10 healthy control subjects by flow cytometry using three specific markers in peripheral blood lymphocytes: cell-surface CD4 and CD25 expression and intracellular FoxP3 expression.

Results

The proportion of CD4+CD25high and CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg was significantly higher in patients with cavity MDR-TB and at 1-month postoperatively than in healthy controls (p<0.001). The proportion of CD4+ and CD4+CD25 cells was significantly lower in patients with cavity MDR-TB than in controls (p<0.001). Pre- and postoperative proportions of CD4+CD25high and CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg cells showed a positive correlation (r=0.878, p<0.001).

Conclusion

Circulating Treg cells are increased in proportion in patients with cavity MDR-TB and decreased after surgery. Infection with M. tuberculosis may induce Treg cell-surface molecular changes with increased numbers of cells.

Keywords: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg, Surgery

 

PII: S1201-9712(10)02411-2

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2010.04.005

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 14, Issue 9 , Pages e815-e822, September 2010