The Expression of Activation Markers CD25 and CD69 Increases during Biologic Treatment of Psoriasis

Abstract

CD (cluster of differentiation) 69 and CD25 are considered early and late markers of the activation of lymphocytes, respectively. CD25 is a part of the IL-2 receptor and is present on the surface of immune and non-immune cells, with high amounts on activated lymphocytes and regulatory T cells. CD69 is expressed on various types of white blood cells, including newly activated lymphocytes, lymphocytes infiltrating tissues isolated from subjects with chronic auto-inflammatory diseases, several subtypes of memory T cells and regulatory T cells. Primarily, CD69 was considered to be an early marker of the activation of lymphocytes, but, right now, data derived from in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed the immunomodulatory role of this surface antigen. In 84 patients with psoriasis, of whom 28 were treated with different biologic drugs, as well as in 29 healthy control subjects, the expression of CD25 and CD69 on different subtypes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was studied with the use of flow cytometry. Significantly higher levels of CD3/CD69-, CD8/CD69- and CD19/CD69-positive PBMCs as well as within CD3+ cells were present in subjects suffering from psoriasis when compared to healthy controls. In patients with psoriasis who were treated with biologic drugs, the levels of CD3/CD69-, CD4/CD69- and CD19/CD69-positive PBMCs, and CD3/CD69 within CD3+ cells, CD4/CD69 within CD4+ cells, CD4/CD25 within CD4+ cells and CD19/CD69 within CD19+ cells were significantly higher than before therapy. Our results support a role for activation markers, especially CD69, in psoriasis. Further research is warranted to fully clarify their significance in this common dermatosis, especially during biologic treatment.

BCG Vaccination-Associated Lower HbA1c and Increased CD25 Expression on CD8+ T Cells in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes in Ghana

“…CD25 plays a dual role as a regulatory T cell marker as well as an activation T cell marker. While being highly expressed on Tregs, CD25 expression on T cells, in general, indicates immune activation and has been associated with autoimmune diseases [28,29,42]. Following this, we found that increased CD25 expression was exclusive to non-Tregs and not in the Tregs subset of CD8 + T cells.…”

Identification of immune subsets with distinct lectin binding signatures using multi-parameter flow cytometry: correlations with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus

“…To monitor the level of activation, activation-induced markers were used: CD25 for the first panel or HLA-DR for the second panel. CD25 is part of the IL-2 receptor complex and highly expressed in activated circulating immune cells and Tregs ( 36 ). In contrast, HLA-DR is expressed constitutively by B-cells and monocytes, albeit its expression is upregulated in response to stimulation by CpG (ODN2006) in B-cells or by LPS in monocytes ( 37 , 38 ).…”