Percentages of Effector Memory T Cells in Peripheral Blood Associated With Non-Infectious Comorbidities in Common Variable Immunodeficiency Disorders.

Abstract

Common variable immunodeficiency disorders (CVID) are characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and increased susceptibility to infections. However, non-infectious comorbidities (NICM) are also frequent manifestations of the disease. We search for distinctive immunophenotypes in CVID patients with NICM. Data were obtained from the clinical records and laboratory analyses of 42 CVID patients. Descriptive statistics, median comparisons, bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed. Median comparison of the immunological variables among patients with or without NICM revealed significant decreased levels of serum IgG, percentages of naïve CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, total B cells and CD56^dim NK cells in peripheral blood from CVID patients with NICM together with an increase in the percentages of effector memory (EM) CD4⁺ and terminally differentiated effector memory (EMRA) CD8⁺ T cells. By using logistic regressions, we determined the likelihood of exhibiting blood immunological abnormalities in patients with NICM vs. those without NICM. Finally, discriminant analyses and ROC curves established that percentages of CD4⁺ EM T cells and CD8⁺ EMRA T cells > 47.4% and 40.2% from the total CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells, respectively, might be associated with NICM in CVID. These differences were also observed in CVID patients with Polyclonal lymphocytic infiltration. These data suggest subpopulations of effector T cells as potential biomarkers of NICM in CVID. Prospective studies are needed to determine the usefulness of our findings in the prognosis of CVID.