Mucosal-associated invariant T cells expression and its clinical significance in ankylosing spondylitis / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the expression of Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in the peripheral blood of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients, and to analyze its clinical significance.Methods:Sixty-four AS patients from September 2020 to September 2022 in Fujian Provincial Hospital and 60 healthy controls were enrolled. The expression of MAIT cells and CD69 +MAIT cells were detected by immunofluorescence. Spondylarthritis research consortium of Canada (SPARCC) scores of sacroiliac joint magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were calculated and were analyzed based on clinical data. The changes of MAIT cells were observed in 7 patients with AS after treatment. t test, variance analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results:The expression of MAIT cells in the peripheral of AS patients was significantly lower than that in the controls [(2.81±0.27)% and (4.46±0.86)% respectively, t=2.33, P=0.022], while CD69 +MAIT cells were significantly higher [(12.0±1.0)% and (7.8±1.2)% respectively, t=2.31, P=0.024]. The level of CD69 +MAIT cells were significantly positively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) ( r=0.39, P=0.010), C-reactive protein (CRP) ( r=0.36, P=0.012), ASDAS ( r=0.35, P=0.013) and SPARCC scores ( r=0.38, P=0.006) of AS patients. ASDAS scores and CD69 +MAIT cells obviously decreased in 7 treated AS patients ( F=7.62, P=0.007 and F=4.97, P=0.027 respectively). Conclusion:The expression of peripheral MAIT cells in AS patients is lower than that in healthy controls, but the number of the activated MAIT cells is increased. Levels of activated MAIT cells may in some extent reflect the inflammatory state and disease activity of AS, as well as inflammatory destruction of sacroiliac joint, and therapeutic effect. MAIT cells may partially participate in the inflammatory response and play a role in the pathogenesis of AS.