Changes and significance of follicular helper T cells and follicular regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood and colon tissues of mice with ulcerative colitis
LI Shiquan
LYU Xiaodan
XIE Yanfei
CHEN Lan
ZHAN Lingling
LYU Xiaoping
Abstract：Objective To observe the changes of follicular helper T cells (Tfh cells) and follicular regulatory T cells (Tfr cells) in the peripheral blood and colon tissues of mice with ulcerative colitis,and to investigate the clinical significance.Methods Twenty male Kunming mice were randomly divided into the normal control group and observation group.We used the 100 mg/kg trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) ethanol enema to prepare the ulcerative colitis models,while mice in the normal control group were given the same dose of 0.9％ sodium chloride solution enema.Each mouse was anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium after 8 days,and the mice abdominal aortic blood and colonic tissue specimens were collected.We evaluated the body weight and stool in mice by UC disease activity index (DAI).The histological changes of colonic mucosa in mice were observed by HE staining,and the damage of the colon tissue was evaluated.The percentage of CD4+ CXCR5 + Foxp3 +Tfr and CD4+ CXCR5 + PD-1 + Tfh cells in the peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry;the percentage of CD4 + CXCR5 + Foxp3 + Tfr and CD4 + CXCR5 + PD-1 + Tfh cells in the colonic tissues were measured by triple immunofluorescence staining;the protein expression of PD-1 in the colonic tissues was determined by Western blotting.Results The disease activity index (DAI),histological score,the percentage of Tfh cells in the peripheral blood,and the ratio of Tfh/Tfr cells were significantly higher in the observation group,while the percentage of Tfr cells was lower than those of the control group (all P ＜ 0.05).Compared with the control group,the proportion of Tfh cells and the expression of PD-1 protein in the colorectal tissues of the observation group were higher,but the proportion of Tfr cells was lower (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The proportion of Tfh cells in the peripheral blood and colon tissues of mice with ulcerative colitis is high,and the proportion of Tfr cells is low,both of which may be involved in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis.
Keywords：ulcerative colitisfollicular helper T cellsfollicular regulatory T cells
Publication Date：2018-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 9-12 )