Regulatory T cells in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients

Abd-Allatif, Salama Saad; Mosa, Mohamed Farouk Ibrahim; Moustafa, Sami Abd-Elhakeem; El-Shazly, Youssef Nasser Youssef

doi:https://doi.org/10.21608/aimj.2025.446486

Regulatory T cells in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine for boys, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

² Department of Rheumatology & Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine for boys, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

https://doi.org/10.21608/aimj.2025.446486

Abstract

Background: A complex autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) manifests itself throughout the course of a long, relapsing-remitting illness with a broad spectrum of symptoms that can range from mild discomfort to complete disability. When it comes to autoimmune disorders like SLE, there's some indication that changes in Treg numbers or function could have a role in the development of the disease.
The Aim of the work: evaluation of the proportions of CD 4+CD 25+CD 127- T regulatory cells in SLE patients in relation to disease activity.
Patients and methods: One hundred patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were studied, with each patient divided into two groups based on disease activity as measured by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index. Thirty healthy persons served as a control group.
Results: When comparing the percentage value of (CD 4+CD 25+CD127-cells) between the active and control groups, as well as between the examined groups (inactive SLE and active SLE), there was a highly significant difference (P<0.001). Conversely, when looking at the absolute value of (CD4+CD25+CD127-cells), there was no statistically significant distinction (P=0.484) between the control group and the inactive SLE group.
Conclusion: Tregs may be utilized as an activity biomarker due to the strong correlation between the percentage of Treg cells and SLE activity. More large-scale research is needed to determine the function of Tregs in SLE and to establish a connection between Tregs and disease parameters that impact mortality and morbidity.

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