Screening NK-, B- and T-cell phenotype and function in patients suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- PDF / 628,478 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 595.28 x 793.7 pts Page_size
- 29 Downloads / 213 Views
RESEARCH
Open Access
Screening NK-, B- and T-cell phenotype and function in patients suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Marta Curriu1†, Jorge Carrillo1†, Marta Massanella1†, Josepa Rigau2, José Alegre3, Jordi Puig4, Ana M Garcia-Quintana5, Jesus Castro-Marrero3, Eugènia Negredo4, Bonaventura Clotet1,4, Cecilia Cabrera1 and Julià Blanco1,6*
Abstract Background: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating neuro-immune disorder of unknown etiology diagnosed by an array of clinical manifestations. Although several immunological abnormalities have been described in CFS, their heterogeneity has limited diagnostic applicability. Methods: Immunological features of CFS were screened in 22 CFS diagnosed individuals fulfilling Fukuda criteria and 30 control healthy individuals. Peripheral blood T, B and NK cell function and phenotype were analyzed by flow cytometry in both groups. Results: CFS diagnosed individuals showed similar absolute numbers of T, B and NK cells, with minor differences in the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. B cells showed similar subset frequencies and proliferative responses between groups. Conversely, significant differences were observed in T cell subsets. CFS individuals showed increased levels of T regulatory cells (CD25+/FOXP3+) CD4 T cells, and lower proliferative responses in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, CD8 T cells from the CFS group showed significantly lower activation and frequency of effector memory cells. No clear signs of T-cell immunosenescence were observed. NK cells from CFS individuals displayed higher expression of NKp46 and CD69 but lower expression of CD25 in all NK subsets defined. Overall, T cell and NK cell features clearly clustered CFS individuals. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that alterations in T-cell phenotype and proliferative response along with the specific signature of NK cell phenotype may be useful to identify CFS individuals. The striking down modulation of T cell mediated immunity may help to understand intercurrent viral infections in CFS. Keywords: T regulatory cells, NKp46, Immune activation, Immunosenescence
Background Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a complex clinical condition of unknown etiology, characterized by persistent or intermittent fatigue that is not the result of recent exertion and does not improve with rest, resulting in a significant reduction in the patient's previous normal * Correspondence: [email protected] † Equal contributors 1 Institut de recerca de la sida, IrsiCaixa-HIVACAT, Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias I Pujol|, Badalona, Spain 6 Institut de Recerca de la sida, IrsiCaixa/Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
activity [1]. Classical diagnostic criteria for CFS overlap with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and require these symptoms to be present for at least six months and concomitant to at least four accompany
Data Loading...
