Frequency and Activation of CD4+CD25high FoxP3+ Regulatory T Cells in Peripheral Blood from Children with Atopic Allergy

Background: Atopic allergy is among the immune tolerancerelated disorders resulting from a failure of the regulatory network. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a leading role in the development of homeostasis in the immune system. The aim of this study was to determine the role of Tregs in the pathogenesis of atopic diseases in children by exploring the relationship between Treg frequency, activation markers and the clinical manifestations of the disease. Methods: Twenty allergic and 50 healthy children were enrolled to the study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stained with monoclonal antibodies (anti-CD25–CD4–CD127–FoxP3– CD69–CD71) and evaluated using flow cytometry. Tregs were identified as CD4+CD25 +/high FoxP3+CD127– T cells. Results: The percentage of Tregs in allergic patients (2.3%) was significantly decreased in comparison to healthy controls (4.6%, p = 0.003). The frequency of Tregs in patients with symptoms of atopic dermatitis and/or food allergy (1.7%) was significantly lower than in patients without these symptoms (2.9%, p = 0.04). A significant correlation between the percentage of Tregs and the sIgE serum concentraReceived: June 6, 2012 Accepted after revision: March 15, 2013 Published online: June 27, 2013 Correspondence to: Dr. Anna Stelmaszczyk-Emmel Department of Laboratory Diagnostics and Clinical Immunology of Developmental Age Medical University of Warsaw, Marszalkowska Street 24 PL–00-576 Warsaw (Poland) E-Mail anna.stelmaszczyk-emmel @ wum.edu.pl © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel 1018–2438/13/1621–0016$38.00/0