Author/Authors :
Mousavi, Tahereh Department of Immunology - Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Poormoghim, Hadi Department - Firooz-Gar Hospital - Iran University of Medical Sciences , Moradi, Maziar Department of Social Medicine - Iran University of Medical Sciences , Tajik, Nader Department of Immunology - Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran , Shahsavar, Farhad Department of Immunology - Khorram- Abad University, Khorram- Abad , Soofi, Mahboobeh Department of Immunology - Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran
Abstract :
It has been demonstrated that natural killer (NK) cells play a role in regulation of
autoimmunity. They play a protective role in several rodent disease models. In this study we
aimed to compare the immunophenotypic features of NK cells in Ankylosing Spondylitis
(AS) with normal subjects with regard to CD56 and CD16 molecules.
This study was carried out on 30 AS patients and 33 normal volunteer donors. Peripheral
Blood Mononuclear cells (PBMC) were tested by flow cytometry detecting the intensity of
CD56 and CD16 surface molecules. The percentage of positive cells and their subsets were
then calculated and statistically analyzed using SPSS software. A significant increase was
found in CD56+ CD16+ (P≤ 0.009), and also in the subset of CD56 dim CD16+ (P≤ 0.02), but
not in CD56 bright CD16+ (P=0.3) NK cells in AS patients compared to controls. We
conclude that these results may indicate that NK and their subset ratios play a role in AS
pathogenesis. Moreover, determination of NK subsets in combination with clinical features
may be useful for AS diagnosis. However, further studies using large samples together with
determination of relevant cytokines are recommended to verify the exact role of NK in AS
disease
Keywords :
Ankylosing Spondylitis , CD56 , CD16 , Natural Killer cell
