Immunological Changes in Peripheral Blood of Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients during Anti-TNF- < em > α < /em > Therapy and Their Correlations with Treatment Outcomes

This study is aimed at evaluating the longitudinal changes of circulating immune cells after anti-TNF-α therapy and their associations with treatment response in AS patients. Thirty-five AS patients receiving the treatment of anti-TNF-α therapy were included into this prospective observational study. The frequencies of immune cells including Th1, Th2, Th17, regulatory T cell (Treg), T follicular helper cell (Tfh), and regulatory B cell (Breg) in the peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry at baseline and 4 time points after therapy. The difference in the circulating immune cells between responders and nonresponders was compared. This study suggested that anti-TNF-α therapy could significantly reduce circulating proinflammatory immune cells such as Th17 and Tfh, but significantly increased the percentages of circulating Treg and Breg. Moreover, circulating Breg may be a promising predictor of response to anti-TNF-α therapy in AS patients.PMID:34692850 | PMC:PMC8536454 | DOI:10.1155/2021/1017938
Source: Journal of Immunology Research - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Source Type: research