Functional subsets of circulating follicular helper T cells in patients with atherosclerosis

Frequencies of circulating T follicular helper (cTfh) functional subsets vary in autoimmune diseases. We evaluated the frequencies and clinical relevance of functional subsets of cTfhs in patients with different degrees of stenosis. Blood samples were collected from high (≥50%) (n = 12) and low (<50%) stenosis (n = 12) groups and healthy controls (n = 6). Three subsets of cTfh cells including cTfh1 (CXCR3⁺ CCR6^- ), cTfh2 (CXCR3^- CCX6^- ), and cTfh17 (CXCR3^- CCR6⁺ ) were detected by flow cytometry. The frequency of cTfh1 cells was higher in control (p = .0006) and low-stenosis groups (p = .005) compared to high-stenosis group. The percentages of cTfh2 and cTfh17 cells were increased in high-stenosis compared to low-stenosis (p = .002 and p = .007) and control groups (p = .0004 and p = .0005), respectively. The frequency of cTfh1 cells negatively correlated with cholesterol (p = .040; r = -.44), C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = .015; r = -.68), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (p = .002; r = -.79), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p = .028; r = -.67), and cTfh17 (p = .017; r = -.7244) in the high-stenosis group. The percentages of cTfh2 and cTfh17 cells positively correlated with cholesterol (p = .025; r = .77 and p = .033; r = .71), CRP (p = .030; r = .61 and p = .020; r = .73), ESR (p = .027; r = .69 and p = .029; r = .70), NLR (p = .004; r = .76 and p = .005; r = .74), and with each other (p = .022; r = .7382), respectively, in the high-stenosis group. The increased frequencies of cTfh2 and cTfh17 subsets and their correlation with laboratory parameters in patients with atherosclerosis may suggest their role in promoting the inflammatory response and atherosclerosis progression.