Leona Dold, Sandra Kalthoff, Leonie Frank, Taotao Zhou, Pia Esser, Philipp Lutz, Christian P Strassburg, Ulrich Spengler, Bettina Langhans
INTRODUCTION: Regulatory CD4+ T cells (Tregs) are pivotal for inhibition of autoimmunity. Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an autoimmune cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology where contribution of Tregs is still unclear. Activation of the JAK-STAT pathway critically modifies functions of Tregs. In PSC, we studied activation of STAT proteins and Treg functions in response to cytokines. METHODS: In 51 patients with PSC, 10 disease controls (chronic replicative hepatitis C), and 36 healthy controls we analyzed frequencies of Foxp3+ CD25+ CD127low CD4+ Tregs, their expression of ectonucleotidase CD39, and cytokine-induced phosphorylation of STAT1, 3, 5, and 6 using phospho-flow cytometry...
April 2024: Immunity, Inflammation and Disease