Application of CD4~+CD25~+CD127~(low/-) as a new regulatory T cell marker in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To investigate the application value of CD4+CD25+CD127low/-as a new regulatory T(Treg) cell marker in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods The proportions of CD4+CD25high,CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ and CD4+CD25+CD127low/-T cells with CD4+ T cell in peripheral blood from patients with RA and healthy controls were determined by flow cytometry.The correlation between CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ and CD4+CD25+CD127low/-T cells was also analyzed.Results There was a significantly positive correlation of the proportions between CD4+CD25+CD127low/-T cells and CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ T cells in both patients with RA and healthy controls(r=0.694,r=0.768,P0.01).The proportions of CD4+CD25high,CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ and CD4+CD25+CD127low/-T cells in peripheral blood from patients with RA were significantly lower than those of healthy controls(P0.01).Conclusions Surface marker CD4+CD25+CD127low/-can be used to identify Treg cells.CD4+ CD25+ CD127low/-T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA.