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Original Article

Features of peripheral CD8+CD57+ lymphocytes in patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia

, , & ORCID Icon
Pages 166-174 | Received 23 Dec 2017, Accepted 13 May 2018, Published online: 30 May 2018
 

Abstract

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is an acquired condition characterized by the presence of autoantibodies recognizing erythrocyte-related antigens. Several components of the immune system are involved in disease pathogenesis. Among them, as for other autoimmune disorders, a role for specific CD8+CD57+ regulatory cells subset could be hypothesized. We evaluated this lymphocyte subset by flow cytometry in 18 AIHA patients randomly selected in a retrospective population of 29 cases. Secondary forms were observed in 65.5% of cases, whereas frequencies of warm, cold, mixed, and atypical forms were similar. Cold agglutinins and cryoglobulins tested positive in 44.8% and 10.3% of cases, respectively. These patients exhibited a higher frequency of peripheral vascular symptoms (odds ratio = 8.2, p = .04) and complement consumption (odds ratio = 7.2, p = .02). Frequency of CD8+CD57+ cells resulted significantly higher in AIHA patients than in control group (17.0 ± 15.8% vs 8.2 ± 5.0%, p = .04). Regardless of therapeutic schedule, patients with partial or no response to therapy (8/18) showed higher frequencies of CD8+CD57+ cells as compared with controls (23.6 ± 21.3% vs 8.9 ± 4.9%, p = .01), whereas 10/18 complete responders (CR) showed lower levels of CD8+CD57+ cells (11.7 ± 6.9%, p = .11). CR and controls showed similar values (p = .24). This study suggests that monitoring this lymphocyte subset before and after treatment administration might have a prognostic value. Moreover, CD8+CD57+ cells may represent a possible therapeutic target to restore the normal balance between lymphocyte populations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by Fondo di Sviluppo e Coesione 2007-2013 – APQ Ricerca Regione Puglia “Programma regionale a sostegno della specializzazione intelligente e della sostenibilità sociale ed ambientale – FutureInResearch (D5DOC15)” (to SR) and by Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro” (to GL).

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