Objective: To investigate the percentages of Treg, Th1, Th2, Th17 cells in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of different stages and their roles in the disease process to explore their associations with the disease activity markers and antibody markers.
Methods: We enrolled 78 RA patients and 21 healthy controls in this study. Percentages of Treg, Th1, Th2, Th17 cells were analyzed by flow cytometry.
Results: Percentages of CD3(+);CD4(+);T cells and CD4(+);CD25(+);T cells increased in RA groups; compared with non-active RA group and control group, active RA group had the higher percentage of Treg; Th2 cells were less in non-active RA group compared with controls, but Th1, Th17 cells were not significantly different in the three groups. Correlation analysis showed that no relationship was observed between Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg cells and RA activity markers (ESR, CRP and PLT).
Conclusion: The abnormality of CD4(+);T cell subsets may contribute to the development of RA disease.