Alterations and significance of Treg cells in myelodysplastic syndromes

Objective To explore the alterations and significance of regulatory T(Treg) cells in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes(MDS) and to investigate the distinction and association of Treg cells among MDS low-risk group and MDS high-risk group.Methods The proportion of CD4+CD25+T cells and of CD4+FOXP3+T cells in CD4+T cells were examined by direct immunofluorescence straining technique and detected by flow cytometry.There were three groups in the study which were MDS low-risk group(21 cases),MDS high-risk group(15 cases),normal control group(22 cases).Results The proportion of CD4+FOXP3+T cells in patients with MDS(both high-risk group and low-risk group) was also significantly higher than normal control group(P0.05).The percentages of CD4+FOXP3+T cells were distinct statistically between low-risk group(7.46±2.01)% and high-risk group(9.62±3.61)%,and the later was higher than the former(P0.05).But there was no significant difference in the percentages of CD4+CD25+T cells in the peripheral blood between any groups(P0.05).Conclusion The proportion of Treg cells is much higher in MDS patients than in normal controls and gradually increased while the disease progressed.