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Diminished natural killer T-like cells correlates with aggravated primary Sjögren’s syndrome

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Abstract

Objective

To reveal the characteristics and potential role of natural killer T-like cells (NKT-like cells) in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS).

Methods

Forty-six patients with pSS and 30 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. The frequencies and cell count of NKT-like cells as well as other lymphocyte subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry. The clinical and laboratory indicators of pSS patients were also collected. Then, the correlation between NKT-like cells and pSS patient manifestations was analyzed by Spearman’s rank test. In addition, NKT-like cells before and after therapy were also compared.

Results

Both the number and the frequencies of NKT-like cells were significantly decreased in pSS patients. The counts of NKT-like cells were positively correlated with CD4+ T cells (r = 0.464, P = 0.001), CD8+ T cells (r = 0.363, P = 0.013), NK cells (r = 0.488, P = 0.001), and IgM levels (r = 0.443, P = 0.002), while negatively correlated with the disease duration (r =  − 0.33, P = 0.027). Moreover, after effective therapy, NKT-like cells were recovered both in the cell counts and frequencies.

Conclusion

In pSS, NKT-like cells were fundamentally decreased, potentially contributing to the disease pathogenesis. Modulating the status of NKT-like cells might provide a novel strategy for treating the disease.

Key Points

• NKT-like cells were significantly decreased in pSS patients.

• NKT-like cells were correlated with pSS patient manifestations.

• NKT-like cells might be serverd as a new marker for assessing the status of pSS.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Research and Development project of Peking University People’s Hospital (RDC2019-01 to Dr. Yingni Li), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971523 and 81671604 to Dr. F. Hu, 81871281 to Dr. Yuan Jia), the Beijing Nova Program (Z181100006218044 to Dr. F. Hu), and the Clinical Medicine Plus X-Young Scholars Project of Peking University (PKU2021LCXQ014 to Dr. F. Hu). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People’s Hospital & Beijing Key Laboratory for Rheumatism Mechanism and Immune Diagnosis (BZ0135), 11 Xizhimen South St, Beijing, 100044, China

    Xinhua Zhou, Yun Li, Feng Sun, Yuan Jia, Rulin Jia, Fanlei Hu & Yingni Li

  2. Clinical Laboratory, Third Hospital of Nanchang, Nanchang, 330009, China

    Xinhua Zhou, Qingxiang Li & Jingjing Fu

  3. Clinical Laboratory, First People’s Hospital of Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030600, China

    Yan Li

  4. Inspection Center, Qindao University Medical College Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, 264000, China

    Yushu Wang

  5. Department of Endocrinology and Rheumatology, Rongcheng People’s Hospital, Rongcheng, 264300, Shandong, China

    Yanna Zhang

  6. State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Fanlei Hu

  7. Department of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Fanlei Hu

Authors
  1. Xinhua Zhou
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  2. Qingxiang Li
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  3. Yun Li
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  5. Feng Sun
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  6. Yan Li
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  7. Yushu Wang
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  8. Yuan Jia
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  9. Yanna Zhang
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  10. Rulin Jia
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  11. Fanlei Hu
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  12. Yingni Li
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Fanlei Hu or Yingni Li.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with a protocol approved by the ethical committee of Peking University People’s Hospital. All the participants gave written informed consent.

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Zhou, X., Li, Q., Li, Y. et al. Diminished natural killer T-like cells correlates with aggravated primary Sjögren’s syndrome. Clin Rheumatol 41, 1163–1168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-021-06011-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-021-06011-z

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