Patients with early-stage myelodysplastic syndromes show increased frequency of CD4? high? low Regulatory T Cells

摘要

Regulatory T cells (T reg) have often been ascribed a role in the pathophysiology of several neoplastic diseases considering their potential ability to suppress anti-tumor immunity. This is particularly the case in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which are clonal hematologic disorders characterized by marked immune dysregulation. We analyzed T reg frequencies in a cohort of 36 patients with early-stage MDS using a flow-cytometric approach based on the concomitant expression of CD25 and CD127. MDS patients showed a higher frequency of CD4? high? low T reg than healthy controls (1.51 vs. 1.14%), with no specific effect of patient-and disease-related factors. Our data point to impaired anti-tumor immunity in patients with MDS, even in the early stage, which has already been noted in other clonal disorders.