Regulatory T cells in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A case-control study

Fatih Hilmi Çetin; Hülya Uçaryılmaz; Halit Necmi Uçar; Hasibe Artaç; Hasan Ali Güler; Sevde Afife Duran; Kübra Kılınç; Serhat Türkoğlu

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2022.577848

Regulatory T cells in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A case-control study

J Neuroimmunol. 2022 Jun 15:367:577848. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2022.577848. Epub 2022 Mar 21.

Authors

Fatih Hilmi Çetin¹, Hülya Uçaryılmaz², Halit Necmi Uçar³, Hasibe Artaç², Hasan Ali Güler⁴, Sevde Afife Duran⁵, Kübra Kılınç³, Serhat Türkoğlu³

Affiliations

¹ Selcuk University, Faculty of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Pyschiatry Department, Konya/Turkey. Electronic address: fatihhilmicetin@gmail.com.
² Selcuk University, Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Immunology and Allergy Department, Konya/Turkey.
³ Selcuk University, Faculty of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Pyschiatry Department, Konya/Turkey.
⁴ Konya Beyhekim Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Konya/Turkey.
⁵ Cengiz Gökçek Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, Child and Adolescent Pyschiatry Department, Gaziantep/Turkey.

PMID: 35358939
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2022.577848

Abstract

Objective: The pathophysiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are still not fully elucidated. Immune system dysregulation has emerged as a major etiological focus as a result of the high comorbidity of allergic disease, inflammatory biomarkers, and genetic research. The present study aimed to evaluate peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in children with ADHD.

Methods: This single-center cross-sectional case-control study assessed 49 children with ADHD and 35 age- and gender-matched healthy children aged 7-12 years (9.10 ± 2.37 and 9.45 ± 2.13, respectively). The participants were screened for psychopathology using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version, while the severity of ADHD symptoms was measured by means of the distracted-Continuous Performance Test. Peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations and Tregs were analyzed with flow-cytometry.

Results: There is no significant difference in peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets between ADHD and control groups The children diagnosed with ADHD exhibited significantly higher levels of CD3⁺ CD4⁺ CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ (Tregs) than the healthy control subjects (8.23 ± 2.09 vs. 6.61 ± 2.89; z = 2.965, p = .004). The Tregs cell (Exp(B) = 1.334; p = .042; CI = 1.011-1.761) levels were determined to be statistically significant according to regression analysis and were associated with an increased probability of ADHD.

Conclusion: Elevated Treg levels were linked to an increased likelihood of ADHD. This study suggested that changes in immune regulatory cells represent an important part of research in treatment of ADHD.

Keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); Immune aberrations; Immunophenotyping; Regulatory T cells (Tregs).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / diagnosis
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / epidemiology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / psychology
Case-Control Studies
Child
Comorbidity
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory