Sex-related differences in the composition of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in ulcerative colitis reflect specific features of the immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease in men and women
Authors:   Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Kononova S.V. ,   Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russian Federation, Vakhitov T.Ya. ,   Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Kudryavtsev I.V. ,   Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation,   Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Lazareva N.M. ,   Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation,   Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Skalinskaya M.I. ,   Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation,   I.I.Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Bakulin I.G. ,   I.I.Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Khavkin A.I. ,   Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation, Sitkin S.I. ,   Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation,   Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation,   I.I.Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Published: February 2024

Objective. To identify the features of the composition of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in women with ulcerative colitis (UC). Patients and methods. The study included 32 women: 21 patients with UC and 11 healthy volunteers (control group) without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The major subsets of T and B lymphocytes were detected by multicolor flow cytometry. Results. The analysis of peripheral blood CD3+ T cell differentiation in women with UC in comparison with healthy controls showed that the Tcyt group had a significant decrease in naive Tcyt cells with an increase in the level of Tcyt cell subsets with pronounced effector properties (EM Tcyt and TEMRA Tcyt). In the subsets of central and effector memory Th cells in women with UC compared to healthy controls, Th17.1-CM cells were significantly different among central memory (CM) cells, and Th17-EM and Th17.1-EM cells were significantly different among effector memory (EM) cells. No significant differences were found in any of the Th17 cell subsets, but there was a tendency towards decreased levels of Th17.1 cells. The analysis of the subsets of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells revealed significant changes only in the level of Tfh17/Tfh22-EM cells (Tfh17-EM cell subset). No significant differences in the B cells were revealed, except for plasmocytes with IgD–CD27++ phenotype, which were increased in UC patients. Conclusion. Changes in peripheral blood T- and B-lymphocytes in women with UC can reflect not only activation of the peripheral immune system, but also induction of immunoglobulin production by B cells activated by T follicular helper cells. For the first time, specific differences between women and men in the total pool of Th17/Th22 cells, “double-positive” Th17, Tfh2 and Tfh17/Tfh22 cells were identified. In contrast to men, no manifestations of a Th2-specific response at the cellular level were observed in women with UC. The revealed sex-related differences in the composition of lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood in UC reflect specific features of the IBD immunopathogenesis in men and women and can be considered in the management of patients with IBD. Key words: inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, T helper cell subsets, B lymphocytes, sex-related differences