The ratio of circulating CD56dim NK cells to follicular T helper cells as a promising predictor for disease activity of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
Jiaqi Ding,
Xu Yan,
Cong Zhao,
Daidi Zhao,
Yan Jia,
Kaixi Ren,
Yao Wang,
Jiarui Lu,
Tangna Sun,
Sijia Zhao,
Hongzeng Li,
Jun Guo
Affiliations
Jiaqi Ding
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Xu Yan
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Cong Zhao
Department of Neurology, Air Force Medical Center of PLA, Beijing, 100142, China
Daidi Zhao
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Yan Jia
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Kaixi Ren
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Yao Wang
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Jiarui Lu
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Tangna Sun
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Sijia Zhao
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
Hongzeng Li
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China; Corresponding author.
Jun Guo
Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China; Corresponding author.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system primarily mediated by CD4+ T helper cells. This study investigated the dynamic changes of natural killer (NK) cells and follicular T helper (Tfh) cells and their associations in relapsing-remitting MS patients. The findings revealed inverse relationships between NK cells and CD4+ T cells or Tfh cells. Specifically, CD56dim NK cells, not CD56bright NK cells, were negatively correlated with CD4+ T cells and Tfh cells. However, no significant correlations were found between NK cells and sNfL levels or EDSS scores. The ratio of CD56dim NK cells to circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells demonstrated superior discriminatory ability in distinguishing relapsing MS patients from healthy controls (HCs) and remitting patients, as determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Following treatment with immunosuppressants or disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a significant increase in the CD56dim NK/cTfh ratio was observed. These findings suggest that the CD56dim NK/cTfh ratio holds promise as a prognostic indicator for clinical relapse and treatment response in MS.
