Changes in peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets predict disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

To explore the correlation between abnormal changes in peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets and disease progression in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

This is a retrospective study, in which 53 patients with active RA were selected as the study subjects and 50 healthy people were selected as the control group. Lymphocyte subsets were determined in both arms. According to whether CD4/CD8 ratio increased, RA patients were subdivided into an elevated CD4/CD8 group and a non-elevated CD4/CD8 group, and compared to the control group. The risk factors affecting the disease progression of patients with active RA were analyzed.

CD4⁺ T lymphocyte subsets in patients with increased CD4/CD8 were significantly higher than those in healthy controls. In addition, the elevated CD4/CD8 group showed significantly CD8⁺ T lymphocyte subsets than the non-elevated CD4/CD8 group and the control group (P<0.05). The CD4⁺ T lymphocyte subsets in the elevated CD4/CD8 group were not significantly higher than those in the non-elevated CD4/CD8 group (P>0.05). The CD3⁺ T lymphocyte subsets as well as CD19⁺ B and NK lymphocyte subsets showed no significant difference among the three arms (P>0.05). In addition, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 were identified to be the risk factors affecting disease progression in patients with active RA.

When an autoimmune disorder occurs in patients with active RA, CD8⁺ T lymphocyte subsets are significantly suppressed, while CD4⁺ T lymphocyte subsets show different manifestations, with some patients presenting no obvious increase. In addition, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 can help to indicate the risk of disease progression in patients with active RA.