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Decreased effector regulatory T cells and increased activated CD4 + T cells in premature ovarian insufficiency
Author(s) -
Kobayashi Mutsumi,
Nakashima Akitoshi,
Yoshino Osamu,
Yoshie Masanori,
Ushijima Akemi,
Ito Masami,
Ono Yosuke,
Shima Tomoko,
Kawamura Kazuhiro,
Ishizuka Bunpei,
Saito Shigeru
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 1046-7408
DOI - 10.1111/aji.13125
Subject(s) - effector , cd8 , foxp3 , immunology , premature ovarian insufficiency , flow cytometry , medicine , il 2 receptor , biology , endocrinology , t cell , immune system
Abstract Problem Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a clinical syndrome defined by the loss of ovarian activity before 40 years old. An autoimmune mechanism is suggested to be involved in the development of POI. Therefore, we examined the relationship between peripheral blood regulatory T (Treg) cells and autoantibodies in POI. Method of study Thirty POI patients and 23 control women were enrolled in the study. Using flow cytometry, we measured the abundance of CD4 + T, CD4 + CD69 + T, CD8 + T, CD8 + CD69 + T, naive Treg, effector Treg, and FOXP3 + effector T cells in peripheral blood. Antinuclear and anti‐thyroglobulin antibody (Tg‐Ab) titers were measured in POI patients. Results The number of CD4 + T or CD4 + CD69 + T cells was significantly higher in POI patients ( P = 0.045, and P = 0.030), and there were significantly fewer effector Treg cells in POI patients ( P = 0.016) than in the controls. There were significant negative correlations between effector Treg cells and Tg‐Abs ( r = −0.584, P = 0.0282), and between effector Treg cells and CD4 + CD69 + T cells ( r = −0.415, P = 0.0226) in POI patients. Conclusion This is the first report of decreased numbers of effector Treg cells and increased CD4 + CD69 + activated T cells in peripheral blood in POI, suggesting that POI is an autoimmune disease.