The risk of circulating angiogenic T cells and subsets in patients with systemic sclerosis

To ascertain the number and percentage of angiogenic T (Tang) cell subsets by flow cytometry in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and their relation with specific clinical features. Thirty SSc patients and 15 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Luminex was performed to analyze the levels of interleukin (IL)-17A, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α, and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM). The ratio of circulating CD3 + CD31 + CXCR4 + T (CD3 + Tang) cells and CD8+ CD31 + CXCR4 + T (CD8+ Tang) cells in SSc patients was enlarger than in HCs, while CD4 + CD31 + CXCR4 + T cells (CD4 + Tang) exhibited no difference between SSc patients and HCs. The number and percentage of Tang cells were higher in SSc patients with pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) than in non-PAH SSc patients and HCs. The ratios of Tang cell subsets in nucleolar pattern-positive SSc patients were markedly raised as compared with their negative ones and HCs. Additionally, the percentage of circulating CD3 + Tang cells was positively associated with VEGF serum levels in SSc patients. Meanwhile, the rate of CD8+ tang cells might have been emphatically corresponded to VEGF and VCAM serum levels in SSc patients. These results imply that the increase in Tang cells in peripheral blood are associated with immunoregulatory disturbances in SSc patients.