The absolute counts of peripheral T lymphocyte subsets in patient with ankylosing spondylitis and the effect of low-dose interleukin-2

The aim of this analysis is to investigate the level of T cell subsets in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the effect of low-dose interleukin 2 (IL-2). This is a retrospective cohort study, we collected basic information, inflammatory markers, BASDAI scores, and T lymphocyte subsets of peripheral blood in patients with AS, baseline analysis, correlation analysis and comparative analysis before and after treatment were performed. Data from 73 patients (of these, 36 patients were treated with IL-2) and 85 the health were included. The absolute numbers of peripheral CD4(+) Treg and CD8(+) Treg cells were lower, while the Th17 cell number and the ratio of Th17/CD4(+) Treg and CD4(+)/CD8(+) Treg were higher. The CD4(+) Treg levels and the ratio of Th17/CD4(+) Tregs were correlated with BASDAI. The CD4(+) Treg, CD8(+) Treg, and Th17 cells were increased after treatment with IL-2 and the ratio of Th17/CD4(+) Treg was decreased. Increase in ratio of Th17/CD4(+) Treg involved in the occurrence of AS. At the same time, low-dose IL-2 could decrease the ratio of Th17/CD4(+) Treg in short time, low-dose IL-2 can be used to treat autoimmune diseases to avoid adverse reactions caused by immunosuppressants. Further clinical study is needed on the efficacy of IL-2.