Peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets are potential biomarkers of disease severity and clinical outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis: a retrospective study

Abstract

Abstract Background Ulcerative colitis (UC) is considered an immune-mediated disease. The disorder of T-lymphocyte subsets plays an important role in the pathogenesis of UC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets in assessing disease severity and predicting clinical outcomes in UC patients. Methods The retrospective case-control study was performed in 116 UC patients with active disease and 90 healthy controls (HC). The UC patients included were followed up for 180 days. Analyses of t-test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, multivariable Cox regression analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and cumulative survival analysis were done. Results The UC patients had lower proportions of CD4+T cells (42.85%±9.77% vs 45.71%±7.94%, P=0.021) and higher proportion of CD8+T cells (27.88%±8.86% vs 25.00%±6.47%, P=0.008) than HC. The severely active UC patients had higher proportion of CD3+HLA-DR+ T cells (8.83%±6.55% vs 2.80%±1.55%, P5.38% had a shorter time to readmission or surgery (log-rank test, P<0.001). Conclusions The combination of CD3+HLA-DR+T cells and CRP may be potential biomarker of disease severity in UC patients. The high proportion of CD3+HLA-DR+T cells may be associated with an increased risk of readmission or surgery in UC patients.

Keywords

• T-lymphocyte subsets
• Biomarkers
• Ulcerative colitis
• Prognosis