Immune Status and Chemokine C Receptor 7 Expression in Primary in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia

Objectives The present study investigated immune disorders and CCR7 expression in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients and analyzed their changes and clinical significance before and after treatments. Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of different immune cell subsets in the peripheral blood of 42 patients with ITP and 20 normal controls at different time points. Treatments included first-line drugs, such as glucocorticoids and intravenous immunoglobulin, and second-line therapy, such as interleukin-11 and Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RA). Results An elevated CD4/CD8 ratio and a decreased NK cells and CD4+CD25+CD127 low regulatory T cells (Tregs) were found in pretreatment ITP patients compared to healthy controls. The newly diagnosed group had a higher CD4/CD8 ratio and more NK cells than in the relapsed group. Tregs of the remission group were higher than those of the recurrence group. The CD4+CCR7+, CD8+CCR7+, CCR7+ subset of B cells and NK cells showed higher increases in the newly diagnosed and the relapsed group compared to controls and remission group.CD4+CCR7+ and CD8+CCR7+ subset in the relapsed group were slightly higher than the newly diagnosed. The CCR7+ subsets of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, NK cells and B cells were lower in the remission group compared to the relapsed group. Higher level of the CD8+CCR7+ subset and lower NK cells were found in the remission group compared to the controls. The ratio between the CD4+CCR7+ subset and CD8+CCR7+ subset was lower in the ITP patients than in normal controls. There was a negative correlation between the CD8+CCR7+ subset and platelet count in the ITP patients. Conclusion ITP patients with CCR7 had immune disorders and high heterogeneity, and CCR7 was found to be involved in the pathogenesis of ITP. Further studies are needed to investigate the effective treatment for ITP by targeted regulation of CCR7.