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Immunological abnormalities associated with pathological conditions, such as higher infection rates, inflammatory diseases, cancer or cardiovascular events are common in patients with panic disorder. In the present study, T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 gene (FOXP3) methylation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and relative telomere lengths (RTLs) were investigated in a total and subsamples of 131 patients with panic disorder as compared to 131 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to test for a potential dysfunction and premature aging of the immune system in anxiety disorders. Significantly lower TRECs (p = 0.004) as well as significant hypermethylation of the FOXP3 promoter region (p = 0.005) were observed in female (but not in male) patients with panic disorder as compared to healthy controls. No difference in relative telomere length was discerned between patients and controls, but significantly shorter telomeres in females, smokers and older persons within the patient group. The presently observed reduced TRECs in panic disorder patients and FOXP3 hypermethylation in female patients with panic disorder potentially reflect impaired thymus and immunosuppressive Treg function, which might partly account for the known increased morbidity and mortality of anxiety disorders conferred by e.g. cancer and cardiovascular disorders.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important for the ontogenetic control of immune activation and tissue damage in preterm infants. However, the role of Tregs for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is yet unclear. The aim of our study was to characterize CD4+ CD25+ forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3)+ Tregs in peripheral blood of well-phenotyped preterm infants (n = 382; 23 + 0 – 36 + 6 weeks of gestational age) with a focus on the first 28 days of life and the clinical endpoint BPD (supplemental oxygen for longer than 28 days of age). In a subgroup of preterm infants, we characterized the immunological phenotype of Tregs (n = 23). The suppressive function of Tregs on CD4+CD25- T cells was compared in preterm, term and adult blood. We observed that extreme prematurity was associated with increased Treg frequencies which peaked in the second week of life. Independent of gestational age, increased Treg frequencies were noted to precede the development of BPD. The phenotype of preterm infant Tregs largely differed from adult Tregs and displayed an overall naïve Treg population (CD45RA+/HLA-DR-/Helios+), especially in the first days of life. On day 7 of life, a more activated Treg phenotype pattern (CCR6+, HLA-DR+, and Ki-67+) was observed. Tregs of preterm neonates had a higher immunosuppressive capacity against CD4+CD25- T cells compared to the Treg compartment of term neonates and adults. In conclusion, our data suggest increased frequencies and functions of Tregs in preterm neonates which display a distinct phenotype with dynamic changes in the first weeks of life. Hence, the continued abundance of Tregs may contribute to sustained inflammation preceding the development of BPD. Functional analyses are needed in order to elucidate whether Tregs have potential as future target for diagnostics and therapeutics.