Dysregulation of circulating MAIT cell subsets in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa

Abstract

Abstract Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by painful and debilitating skin lesions. Recent reports purport HS as an autoinflammatory keratinization disease with numerous pathways and features of systemic inflammation however few studies have been conducting to characterize peripheral immune dysregulation. Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are an invariant T cell subset responding directly to bacterial threats and their dysregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders, cancers and inflammatory skin conditions. Here, we analyzed MAIT cells in the blood of 16 HS patients and 12 healthy controls (HC) by flow cytometry. We found that the frequency of MAIT cells did not change in HS patients, but their function changed drastically. We observed a significant reduction in the frequency of IFNy+ and TNFα+ MAIT cells in the periphery of HS patients. Furthermore, we analyzed MAIT cell subsets by their CD4 surface expression. Here, we found that the frequency of CD4+MAIT cells in the periphery of HS patients is significantly increased, while the frequency of CD4-MAIT cells is significantly decreased. Furthermore, HS patients have a reduction in CD4− IFNg+ and TNFa+ MAIT cells. Overall, these findings suggest that peripheral MAIT cells are dysregulated in HS patients which may contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. NIH/NIAMS (1R21AR079089 and 1R01AR078688) for Dr. Mi and Henry Ford Immunology Program grant (T71017 for Dr. Mi and T71016 for Di Zhou).