Immunophenotype and clinical significance of B-lymphocyte cells in peripheral blood of patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome by flow cytometry
Objective To detect the immunophenotype of B cell subsets in peripheral blood of patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome(pSS)and explore the clinical significance of B cell subsets in pSS.Methods This is a retrospective case-control study.A total of 25 pSS patients treated in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from March 1st 2023 to February 28th 2024 were enrolled(pSS group).The mean age of the pSS group was 62.0±11.9 years old,including 25 female.Besides,25 female healthy subjects were selected as the control group(HC group)during the tudy period,with a mean age of 57.6±11.2 years old.Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of B cell subsets in peripheral blood.In our study,pSS patients were divided into＜60 years old group(15 cases)and≥60 years old group(10 cases).pSS patients were divided into ESSDAI score＜5 group(9 cases)and ESSDAI score≥5 group(16 cases)according to ESSDAI score.Besides,they were further divided into no system damage group(7 cases)and combined system damage group(18 cases).According to the expression of anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibodies,pSS patients were divided into anti-SSA antibody negative group(7 cases),anti-SSA antibody positive group(18 cases),anti-SSB negative group(17 cases)and anti-SSB positive group(8 cases).Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the distribution difference of B cell subsets between the two groups,and Spearman correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between B cell subsets and laboratory indicators and ESSDAI scores of pSS patients.Results In comparison to the HC group,the pSS group exhibited a statistically significant increase in the proportions of naïve B cells,CD19+CD20+B cells and plasmablast cells,alongside a decrease in the proportions of unswitched memory B cells,switched memory B cells and regulatory B cells,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The proportion of plasmablast cells was significantly higher in the ESSDAI score≥5 group than that in the ESSDAI score＜5 group[1.20％(1.00％,1.38％)vs.0.5％(0.38％,0.65％),Z=2.416,P＜0.05].Conversely,the proportion of regulatory B cells was lower in the ESSDAI score≥5 group compared to the ESSDAI score＜5 group[2.50％(2.00％,2.78％)vs.5.55％(3.58％,7.10％),Z=2.775,P＜0.05].The proportion of unswitched memory B cells was significantly lower in the group with systemic injury compared to the group without systemic injury[1.50％(0.85％,1.70％)vs.2.45％(1.73％,2.78％),Z=2.122,P＜0.05].Spearman correlation analysis showed that the ESSDAI score was positively correlated with the proportion of plasmablast cells in patients with pSS(r=0.431,P＜0.05),while negatively correlated with the proportion of regulatory B cells in pSS patients(r=-0.413,P＜0.05).Conclusions There is an increased proportion of plasmablast cells and a reduced proportion of regulatory B cells in the peripheral blood of patients with pSS,and these alterations are strongly correlated with the disease activity of pSS.Consequently,plasmablast cells and regulatory B cells may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of pSS.
万方数据
维普
