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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Immunological Tolerance and Regulation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1447213

Differential Immunological Profiles in Seronegative versus Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis: Th17/Treg Dysregulation and IL-4

Provisionally accepted
Baochen Li Baochen Li 1,2Rui Su Rui Su 1,2Qiaoling Guo Qiaoling Guo 1,3Ronghui Su Ronghui Su 1,2Chong Gao Chong Gao 4Xiao-Feng Li Xiao-Feng Li 1,2Caihong Wang Caihong Wang 1,4*
  • 1 Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
  • 2 Shanxi Key Laboratory of Immunomicroecology, Taiyuan, China
  • 3 Heping Hospital Affiliated to Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, Shanxi Province, China
  • 4 Deaprtment of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease with various subtypes. Among these, seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (SnRA), distinguished by its distinctive seronegative antibody phenotype, presents clinical diagnosis and treatment challenges. This study aims to juxtapose the immunological features of SnRA with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (SpRA) to investigate potential mechanisms contributing to differences in antibody production.Methods: This study included 120 patients diagnosed with RA and 78 patients diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), comprising 41 cases of SnRA and 79 cases of SpRA. Clinical, serological, and immune data were collected from all participants to systematically identify and confirm the most pivotal immunological distinctions between SnRA and SpRA.(1) SpRA demonstrates more pronounced T-helper 17 cells (Th17) / Regulatory T cells (Treg) dysregulation, vital immunological differences from SnRA. (2) SpRA exhibits higher inflammatory cytokine levels than SnRA and PsA. (3) Lymphocyte subset ratios and cytokine overall distribution in SnRA close to PsA. (4) Interleukin-4 (IL-4) emerges as the central immunological disparity marker between SnRA and SpRA.Th17/Treg imbalance is one of the vital immunological disparities between SnRA and SpRA. Interestingly, PsA and SnRA display similar peripheral blood immunological profiles, providing immunological evidence for these two diseases' clinical and pathological similarities. Furthermore, IL-4 emerges as the central immunological disparity marker between SnRA and SpRA, suggesting its potential role as a triggering mechanism for differential antibody production.

    Keywords: seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, regulatory T cells, T-helper 17 cells, Interleukin-4, biomarker

    Received: 11 Jun 2024; Accepted: 16 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Su, Guo, Su, Gao, Li and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Caihong Wang, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.