Altered T-cell profile in sickle cell disease

Abstract

Background: Impaired immune status due to altered T-cell response in sickle cell disease (SCD) might provide substantial insight into immune activity in SCD patients. Materials & methods: A total of30 healthy control, 20 SCD patients in a crisis state and 38 SCD patients in a steady state were evaluated for T-cell subsets. Results: A significant decrease in CD8+ (p=0.012) and CD8+45RA-197+ (p=0.015) T-cells were observed among SCD patients. Naive T-cells(45RA+197+;p<0.01) were elevated and effector (RA-197-) and central memory (RA-197+) T-cells were grossly reduced in the crisis state. Negative regression of naive T-cells with CD8+57+ affirmed immune inactivation. The predictor score reflected 100% sensitivity for predicting the crisis state (area under the curve=0.851; p<0.001). Conclusion: Monitoring naive T-cells with predictive scores can help assess the early shift from a steady state to a crisis state.