TY - JOUR A1 - Prelog, Martina A1 - Schönlaub, Jörn A1 - Würzner, Reinhard A1 - Koppelstaetter, Christian A1 - Almanzar, Giovanni A1 - Brunner, Andrea A1 - Gasser, Martin A1 - Prommegger, Rupert A1 - Häusler, Gabriele A1 - Kapelari, Klaus A1 - Högler, Wolfgang T1 - Lower CD28+ T cell proportions were associated with CMV-seropositivity in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis JF - BMC Endocrine Disorders N2 - Background Alterations in the naive T cell subpopulations have been demonstrated in patients with T cell mediated autoimmune disorders, reminiscent of immunological changes found in the elderly during immunosenescence, including the switch from CD45RA + to CD45RO + T cells and decreased thymic function with increased compensatory proliferative mechanisms, partly associated with latent Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The present study was aimed to investigate proportions of lymphocytes, their relation to CMV-seropositivity and the replicative history of CD45RA + expressing T cells in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT, n = 18) and healthy controls (HC, n = 70). Methods Proportions of peripheral T cells were investigated by flow cytometry. The replicative history was assessed by T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and relative telomere length (RTL). Expression of CD62L was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in thyroid sections. The role of CMV was assessed by serology, ELISPOT assay and in situ hybridization. Results Our results demonstrated a significant increase of CD28-negative T cells, associated with CMV-seropositivity in HT patients. HT showed abundant CD45RO + T cells with peripheral loss of CD62L-expressing CD8 + CD45RA + T cells, the latter mainly depending on disease duration. CD62L was expressed in thyroid lymphocyte infiltrations. The diagnosis of HT and within the HT group CMV-seropositivity were the main determinants for the loss of CD28 expression. RTL was not different between HC and HT. HT showed significantly lower TRECs in CD4 + CD45RA + T cells compared to HC. Conclusions Patients with HT display a peripheral T cell phenotype reminiscent of findings in elderly persons or other autoimmune disorders. Whether these mechanisms are primary or secondary to the immunological alterations of autoimmune conditions should be investigated in longitudinal studies which may open research on new therapeutic regimes for treatment of HT and associated autoimmune diseases. KW - Immunosenescence KW - CD62L KW - Regulatory T cells KW - TREC KW - Telomere Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96352 UR - http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6823/13/34 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prelog, Martina A1 - Almanzar, Giovanni A1 - Eberle, Gernot A1 - Lassacher, Andrea A1 - Specht, Christian A1 - Koppelstaetter, Christian A1 - Heinz-Erian, Peter A1 - Trawöger, Rudolf A1 - Bernhard, David T1 - Maternal cigarette smoking and its effect on neonatal lymphocyte subpopulations and replication JF - BMC Pediatrics N2 - Background Significant immunomodulatory effects have been described as result of cigarette smoking in adults and pregnant women. However, the effect of cigarette smoking during pregnancy on the lymphocyte subpopulations in newborns has been discussed, controversially. Methods In a prospective birth cohort, we analyzed the peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations of smoking (SM) and non-smoking mothers (NSM) and their newborns and the replicative history of neonatal, mostly naive CD4 + CD45RA + T cells by measurements of T-cell-receptor-excision-circles (TRECs), relative telomere lengths (RTL) and the serum cytokine concentrations. Results SM had higher lymphocyte counts than NSM. Comparing SM and NSM and SM newborns with NSM newborns, no significant differences in proportions of lymphocyte subpopulations were seen. Regardless of their smoking habits, mothers had significantly lower naive T cells and higher memory and effector T cells than newborns. NSM had significantly lower percentages of CD4 + CD25++ T cells compared to their newborns, which was not significant in SM. There were no differences regarding cytokine concentrations in newborns of SM and NSM. However, NSM had significantly higher Interleukin-7 concentrations than their newborns. Regardless of smoking habits of mothers, newborns had significantly longer telomeres and higher TRECs than their mothers. Newborns of SM had significantly longer telomeres than newborns of NSM. Conclusions Apart from higher lymphocyte counts in SM, our results did not reveal differences between lymphocyte subpopulations of SM and NSM and their newborns, respectively. Our finding of significantly longer RTL in newborns of SM may reflect potential harm on lymphocytes, such as cytogenetic damage induced by smoking. KW - Cigarette smoking KW - Lymphocytes KW - T cell receptor excision circles KW - Telomeres Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96435 UR - http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/13/57 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Almanzar, Giovanni A1 - Zlamy, Manuela A1 - Koppelstaetter, Christian A1 - Brunner, Andrea A1 - Jeller, Verena A1 - Duftner, Christina A1 - Dejaco, Christian A1 - Brunner, Juergen A1 - Prelog, Martina T1 - Increased replication of CD4+ naive T cells and changes in T cell homeostasis in a case of acute exacerbation of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a case comparison study JF - Journal of Medical Case Reports N2 - Introduction Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a heterogeneous T cell-mediated autoimmune disease with symptoms of premature aging of the immune system (immunosenescence). The present work is an investigation of immunosenescence parameters, such as quantity of naive and CD28- T cells, T cell receptor excision circles, relative telomere length and alterations of peripheral T cell replication, and was performed via comparison of a case of acute exacerbation of juvenile idiopathic arthritis against six patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis with disease remission and six age-matched healthy donors over a follow-up course of 12 months. Case presentation Phenotypical T cell characterization and intracellular interferon γ, tumor necrosis factor α, and interleukin 2 production were studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from seven patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and six healthy control donors, with findings determined by flow cytometry. T cell receptor excision circles and relative telomere length quantification were performed on deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from naive (CD4+CD28+CD45RA+) T cells and investigated via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Ki67 expression was studied by immunohistochemistry on naive T cells. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon test for two independent groups of variables were used to compare healthy donors with patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. During follow-up, patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis showed lower total counts of naive and CD28-expressing T cells compared to healthy donors. Acute exacerbation led to low naive and CD28+ T cell populations and elevated proportions of Ki67-expressing CD4+ naive T cells. In conditions of exacerbation, T cell receptor excision circle numbers were in the lower range in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and increased after follow-up. Healthy donors showed significantly higher relative telomere lengths compared to patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Conclusions This investigation illustrates that the changes in T cell homeostasis in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis may be the result of several mechanisms, such as diminished thymus function and peripheral exertions to maintain the peripheral T cell pool. The results also demonstrate that hallmarks of immunosenescence such as decreased naive T cell levels and lower T cell receptor excision circle numbers can only be interpreted together with replication markers such as relative telomere length or Ki67 expression. KW - Exacerbation KW - Juvenile idiopathic arthritis KW - Naive T cells KW - T cell receptor excision circles Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96325 UR - http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/7/1/135 ER -