Phenotypic characteristics and clinical significance of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in dengue patients

Abstract

Objective To explore the phenotypic characteristics and clinical significance of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the progression of (DF) . Methods There were 170 dengue patients and 30 healthy donors enrolled in Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital from July to November, 2014. The sex and age compositions were comparable. The dengue patients were divided into five groups based on the length of fever at the time of the first visit: group A (n=36) , fever day1-2; group B (n=38) , fever day3-4; group C (n=32) , fever day 4-6; group D (n=33) , fever day 7-8; and group E (n=31) , fever day≥9. The MDSCs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry. The dynamic changes of MDSCs in the progression of dengue were monitored. In addition, the correlations between MDSCs ratios and some clinical indicators such as serum dengue RNA, temperature and prothrombin time were further analyzed with Spearman correlation analysis. Results HLA-DR-/lowCD11b+CD33+ MDSCs in dengue patients mainly belonged to CD14+ monocytes (M-MDSCs) . The ratio of MDSCs in 170 dengue patients was (4.45±0.27) %, which was significantly higher than the healthy controls (t=5.191, P<0.01) . With the prolongation of fever days, the MDSCs ratio of dengue patients showed a downward trend (F=3.278, P<0.05) . The numbers of MDSCs in dengue patients were positively correlated with dengue RNA level, body temperature and prothrombin time (r=0.367, 0.263 and 0.475, P all<0.01) . Conclusions The proliferation of M-MDSCs is elevated in dengue patients, which may be positively related to the fever time and severity, and may be involved in the pathogenesis of dengue. Key words: Dengue; Myeloid-derived suppressor cells; Fever time