Increased Number of Regulatory T Cells in Children With Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Abstract

We show that Treg are increased in esophageal tissue of EoE subjects compared with GERD and HC subjects. The present study illustrates another possible mechanism involved in EoE that implicates impairment of immune homeostasis.

Eosinophilic esophagitis: update on clinicopathological manifestations and pathophysiology

“…EoE patients had significantly more ERK, Bcl-2, bFGF, and eotaxin compared to controls [37]. Further studies identified increased numbers of Tregs (FoxP3 expression) and HLA-DR expression in the affected EoE mucosa [36,38]. Together, these studies continue to define the microenvironment associated with EoE.…”

“…Along these lines, Yen et al [35] found significantly greater FceRI expression on epithelial cells in EoE children compared to those with GERD and normal controls suggesting a role in IgE-mediated activation. In a series of articles from Nadeau et al, the role of other T cells in the squamous mucosa and peripheral mononuclear cells in EoE has been examined [36][37][38]. Realtime analysis of peripheral mononuclear cells from 35 children with EoE was compared to eight with GERD, 10 with IBD, and eight healthy controls.…”

Immunophenotyping of Peripheral Eosinophils Demonstrates Activation in Eosinophilic Esophagitis

“…Relative quantification was measured using the comparative CT (threshold cycle) method. The expression level of a gene in a given sample was represented as 2 −ΔΔ Ct , where ΔΔCT = [ΔCT (experimental) ]−[ΔCT (medium) ] and ΔCT = [CT (experimental) ]−[CT (housekeeping) ] (28). …”

Adult versus pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis: important differences and similarities for the clinician to understand

“…These include mast cells, which exhibit increased density in both pediatric [61][62][63][64] and adult patients [6,57,65,66], a feature that has been proposed as a differentiating element from GERD [67]. Intraepithelial CD3 + T lymphocytes are also significantly increased in both children [55,68] and adults [69] with EoE. These cells may be present with comparable densities, with CD8 + cells being predominant in all age groups [55,57].…”