Objective: To clarify the chemotactic characteristics of type 2 helper T cells (Th2 cells) and type 2 follicular helper T cells (Tfh2 cells) in peripheral blood of patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), and to explore the associations between the chemokine receptors expression and the levels of antigen-specific IgE (sIgE) and the severity of the disease. Methods: The peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 41 patients with AR (20 males and 21 females, aged 35.0 (24.5, 47.0) years) and 42 healthy controls (24 males and 18 females, aged 35.0 (24.8, 46.5) years) treated in Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from April 2017 to February 2018 were isolated. The expressions of chemokine receptor (CCR)2, CCR3, CCR4, CCR5, CCR7, CCR8, chemokine C-X3-C-motif receptor 1 (CX3CR1) and C-X-C motif receptor 4 (CXCR4) in Th2 and Tfh2 cells were explored by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACs). The relationship between the expression of these chemokine receptors in Th2 cells and Tfh2 cells and the levels of serum sIgE and the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) was analyzed. Graphpad prism 7.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The significant differences in chemotactic characteristics between Th2 cells and Tfh2 cells in the control group were found: Th2 cells highly expressed chemokine receptors CCR2, CCR3, CCR5, CCR8 and CX3CR1, while Tfh2 cells highly expressed immune cell homing chemokine receptors CCR7 and CXCR4. AR patients, compared to the control, expressed higher levels of CCR2, CCR5 and CX3CR1 on peripheral Th2 cells(all P<0.01). At the same time, the proportion of CCR2+and CCR5+Th2 cells was positively correlated with VAS score (r value was 0.58 and 0.61, respectively, both P<0.01). In AR patients, higher expression levels of CCR7 on Tfh2 cells were detected (P<0.01), and the proportion of CCR7+Tfh2 cells was positively correlated with the level of serum sIgE (r=0.51, P<0.01). Conclusion: The percentage of CCR2+ and CCR5+ Th2 cells in peripheral of AR patients can reflect the severity of AR to some extent, while the percentage of CCR7+ Tfh2 cells is positively correlated with the level of serum sIgE.
目的： 明确变应性鼻炎（AR）患者外周血2型辅助性T细胞（Th2细胞）和2型滤泡辅助性T细胞（Tfh2细胞）的趋化特点，并探究其趋化因子受体的表达与过敏原特异性免疫球蛋白E（sIgE）水平及疾病严重程度的关系。 方法： 分离2017年4月至2018年2月间在华中科技大学同济医学院附属同济医院就诊的41例AR患者［男20例，女21例，年龄35.0（24.5，47.0）岁］和42名健康对照［男24例，女18例，年龄35.0（24.8，46.5）岁］的外周血单个核细胞，多色流式检测趋化因子受体CC类趋化因子受体（CCR）2、CCR3、CCR4、CCR5、CCR7、CCR8、趋化因子C-X3-C-基序受体1（CX3CR1）和趋化因子（C-X-C基序）受体4（CXCR4）在Th2和Tfh2细胞中的表达。分析这些趋化因子受体在Th2和Tfh2细胞上的表达量与血清sIgE水平及受试者视觉模拟量表（VAS）评分的关系。使用GraphPad Prism 7.0软件进行统计学分析。 结果： 对照组Th2与Tfh2细胞的趋化特性具有明显差异：Th2细胞高表达趋化因子受体CCR2、CCR3、CCR5、CCR8和CX3CR1；而Tfh2细胞高表达引导免疫细胞归巢的趋化因子受体CCR7和CXCR4。AR患者外周血Th2细胞较对照组表达更高水平的CCR2、CCR5和CX3CR1（P值均<0.01），同时CCR2+和CCR5+Th2细胞的比例均与VAS评分呈正相关（r值分别为0.58、0.61，P值均<0.01）；Tfh2细胞较对照组表达更高水平的CCR7（P<0.01），CCR7+Tfh2细胞的比例与血清sIgE水平呈正相关（r=0.51，P<0.01）。 结论： AR患者外周血CCR2+和CCR5+ Th2细胞占Th2细胞的百分比可一定程度上反映AR的严重程度，而CCR7+ Tfh2细胞占Tfh2细胞的百分比与血清sIgE水平呈正相关。.