Anti-TNF-α therapy improves Treg and suppresses Teff in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Anti-TNF-α therapies have been applied in RA treatment, but the regulatory effect of the drug on immune system is not clear. In this study, we included 33 active RA patients and divided them into two groups. One group received anti-TNF-α mAb + methotrexate for 24 weeks, the other group got placebo + methotrexate for the first 12 weeks and anti-TNF-α mAb + methotrexate for another 12 weeks. Circulatory regulatory T cell (Treg) and effector T cell (Teff) frequency was analyzed pre-therapy and week 12 and week 24 for both group patients by flowcytometry. Our results indicated significantly elevated Treg and decreased Teff at week 24 compared with pre-therapy and week 12 for both group patients, and a little higher Treg and lower Teff frequency in anti-TNF-α therapy group than in placebo therapy patients. Our results demonstrated anti-TNF-α therapy has regulatory effect on immune system of RA patients by promoting Treg proportion increase and suppressing Teff.