Regulatory T cells are of utmost importance for tolerating the fetus. In some pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia, the frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells is altered, but there is no consistency regarding the results. Besides, little is known about the frequency of CD8+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in pregnancy complications. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the frequency of both CD4+ and CD8+ regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood of women afflicted by preeclampsia. Ten non-pregnant, ten healthy pregnant, and ten preeclamptic women participated in this study. Four colors flow cytometry method was used to identify the frequency of the CD4+ and CD8+ regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood. Results indicated that the frequencies of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and CD8+CD25+Foxp3+ cells were significantly lower in preeclamptic women compared to healthy pregnant and non-pregnant ones (p<0. 05). A positive correlation was also observed between CD4+ and CD8+ regulatory T cells (R=0. 532, p=0. 002). Moreover, CD4+ regulatory T cells negatively correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures (R=-0. 760 and-0. 753, respectively; p<0. 001). CD8+ regulatory T cells also had a negative correlation with systolic (R=-0. 503, p=0. 001) and diastolic (R=-0. 590, p=0. 005) blood pressures. In conclusion, a reduction in the frequencies of both CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ and CD8+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells might be important in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia.

Background: Kidney transplantation (KTx) is the most effective treatment for end-stage renal disease. Early detection of at-risk patients, before the need for biopsy, through monitoring the transcript or protein levels of certain immune factors is crucial for improving clinical outcomes. Objectives: This cross-sectional study, conducted between 2019 and 2020 at Abu Ali Sina Hospital, aimed to evaluate the expression levels of three critical Treg markers, including forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), CD25, and interleukin-2 (IL-2), to assess the immune tolerance induced by Tregs for the early detection of kidney graft dysfunction. Methods: The study enrolled 39 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) who were categorized as stable graft recipients (SGR; n = 21) or non-stable graft recipients (non-SGR; n = 18) without any viral infection. A healthy control group (n = 15) was included. Expression levels of FOXP3, CD25, and IL-2 were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected during the first week post-transplantation using real-time PCR and analyzed via the Livak (2-ΔΔCt) method. The Mann-Whitney test assessed differences between SGR and non-SGR groups, while potential biases were minimized through careful participant selection, blinding during measurements, and consideration of measurement bias. Results: Expression levels of FOXP3, CD25, and IL-2 were higher in KTRs compared to controls. Specifically, CD25 expression was significantly higher in the non-SGR group compared to the SGR group (P = 0.001), while FOXP3 showed a non-significant increase (P = 0.475). The IL-2 expression level exhibited a non-significant decrease (P = 0.374) in the non-SGR group compared to the SGR group. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that increased FOXP3 and CD25 expression levels in PBMCs imply a larger Treg population and may aid in the early detection of at-risk kidney graft recipients prior to biopsy. However, the findings are limited by the small sample size of recipients and the reliance on flow cytometry for detecting the Treg population and associated markers.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common rheumatoid disease of unknown etiology, determined by the articular cartilage destruction and bone loss. The hallmark of RA is the defect in immune tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Treg) play a critical role in the protection of peripheral tolerance. Objective: To assess the percentage of CD4+/CD25+/high/ CD127low/-Treg cells in peripheral blood of RA patients as compared with the healthy individuals. Methods: The number of CD4+/CD25+/high/CD127low/-Treg cells was assessed by multicolor flow cytometry. The clinical disease activity of RA patients was determined by disease activity score 28 (DAS-28). The correlations of DAS-28 and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) with Treg cells were evaluated. Results: The percentage of CD4+/CD25+/high/CD127low/-Treg cells in peripheral blood of RA patients significantly decreased as compared with the healthy individuals (P= 0. 0002). The percentage of CD4+/ CD25+/high/CD127low/-Treg cells negatively correlated with DAS-28 and ESR. Conclusion: This study concludes that the defect of Treg cells plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Further studies are necessary to determine the role of Treg cells in the clinical course of rheumatoid arthritis.