Abstract:
Objective: To explore the expression of regulatory T cells in peripheral blood in patients with re-fractory immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and the association between them. Methods: 21 patients with refractory ITP and 21 health controls were studied. The expressions of CD4
+CD25
+ cells and CD4
+CD25
+Foxp3
+ cells were detected by flow cytometry. Statistical analysis was carried out with regard to data in two groups. Results: The ratios of CD4
+CD25
+ cells and CD4
+CD25
+Foxp3
+ cells/ CD4+ cells in patients with refractory ITP decreased significantly compared with those in the con-trol group ((4.52 ± 2.95)% vs (6.33 ± 2.93)%, P < 0.001; (2.30 ± 0.72)% vs (4.17 ± 1.23)%, P < 0.05). There was no correlation between platelet counts and Treg cells. Conclusions: Detection of Treg cells in patients with refractory ITP can induce the hyper auto-reactive activation and more damages of platelets, but they don’t have relations, which may be one reason of refractory ITP.