The Increased Ratio of Blood CD56bright to CD56dim NK Cells Is a Distinguishing Feature of Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome

Bingxia Ming ¹, Tong Wu ¹ and Lingli Dong², ¹Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Tongji hospital, Huazhong university of science and technology, Wuhan, China (People's Republic), ²Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Tongji hospital, Huazhong university of science and technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China (People's Republic)

Meeting: 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting

Keywords: Sjogren's syndrome and natural killer (NK) cells

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 11, 2019

Title: Sjögrenʼs Syndrome – Basic & Clinical Science Poster II

Session Type: Poster Session (Monday)

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: To investigate the characteristic and clinical significance of peripheral blood CD56 NK cell subsets in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS).

Methods: From November 2017 to November 2018, 52 patients fulfilled the 2002 AECG criteria or 2012 ACR criteria of pSS and 20 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. The proportion and absolute number of NK cells and CD56 NK cell subsets in peripheral blood samples were detected by flow cytometry. Disease activity was determined by score of EULAR Sjogren’s syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI). Other laboratory parameters such as anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-SSA/SSB, C-reactive protein (CRP) and the treatment regimen were extracted from the clinical system. The ROC curve was used to assess the diagnostic value of the ratio of CD56bright NK to CD56dim NK.

Results: The proportion and absolute number of peripheral blood NK cells were reduced in pSS patients compared to healthy controls. The proportion of CD56^bright NK cell subset was increased and its absolute number was decreased. The proportion and absolute number of CD56^dim NK cell subset were decreased. Moreover, the ratio of CD56^brightNK to CD56^dimNK was significantly elevated in pSS patients than that in healthy controls. ROC curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve (AUC) of the peripheral blood CD56^brightNK/CD56^dimNK was 0.838, and the best diagnostic cut-off point was 0.0487 for pSS patients. Furthermore, the decreased blood CD56^dimNK cell count was increased again after treatment in pSS patients consistent with the decreased ESSDAI and serum IgG level.

Conclusion: The ratio of blood CD56^brightNK to CD56^dimNK may be a valuable biomarker for the diagnosis of pSS. The absolute counts of CD56^dim NK cell subsets is sensitive to the treatment response in pSS patients.

Disclosure: B. Ming, None; T. Wu, None; L. Dong, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Ming B, Wu T, Dong L. The Increased Ratio of Blood CD56bright to CD56dim NK Cells Is a Distinguishing Feature of Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-increased-ratio-of-blood-cd56bright-to-cd56dim-nk-cells-is-a-distinguishing-feature-of-primary-sjogrens-syndrome/. Accessed .

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