Correlation between T cell exhaustion and progression, activity and response to treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

ONOFRIO, LUISINA I.; ZACCA, ESTEFANIA R.; FERRERO, PAOLA; ACOSTA, CRISTINA; RAMELLO, MARIA C.; MONTES, CAROLINA L.; BOARI, JIMENA TOSELLO; MUSSANO, EDUARDO; ONETTI, LAURA; CADILE, ISAAC; GAZZONI, M. VICTORIA; JURADO, RAÚL; GRUPPI, ADRIANA; ACOSTA RODRÍGUEZ, EVA V.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXIV Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología; 2016

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease with articular and systemic effects. RA pathophysiology involves B and T cells (Tc) and detrimental interactions of proinflammatory cytokines. Treatment (Tx) includes antirheumatic drugs and biologic and synthetic agents. T cell exhaustion (Tex), a dysfunctional state characterized by loss of effector functions and expression of inhibitory receptors (IRs), is harmful during infections and cancer. As its role remains unexplored in autoimmunity, we aimed to study Tex during RA and its relationship to disease progression and activity and response to Tx. Fourteen healthy donors (HD) and 35 RA patients (RApt) (15 untreated and 20 with different Tx) were recruited in the Rheumatology Service (Hospital Nacional de Clínicas) and evaluated at different times post-Tx. Phenotype and function of different immune subpopulations from peripheral blood were evaluated by flow cytometry. Although the expression of the IRs CD160 and BTLA was barely modified by different Tx, there was a significant negative correlation (p