Increased number of regulatory T cells in esophageal tissue of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis in comparison to gastro esophageal reflux disease and control groups.

BACKGROUND

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a primarily polygenic allergic disorder. Although most patients have IgE sensitization, it seems that non-IgE mediated responses mainly contribute to the pathogenesis of EoE. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) may have an important role in allergies. There are limited data on the association of Tregs and EoE. In this study, we enumerated and compared T lymphocytes and Tregs in esophageal tissue of patients with EoE, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and normal controls.

METHODS

Ten patients with EoE, ten patients with GERD and eight normal controls were included. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to enumerate T lymphocytes and Tregs. CD3+ cells were considered as T cells and FOXP3+, CD3+ cells were considered as Tregs. T cells and Tregs were counted in 10 high power fields (HPF) (×400) for each patient and the average of 10 HPFs was recorded.

RESULTS

The mean±SEM of Tregs in esophageal tissue of patients with EoE (10.90±2.14cells/HPF) was significantly higher than the GERD (2.77±0.66cells/HPF) and control groups (0.37±0.08cells/HPF) (P<0.001). Additionally, the mean±SEM of T lymphocytes in esophageal tissue of patients with EoE (24.39±3.86cells/HPF) were increased in comparison to the GERD (10.07±2.65cells/HPF) and control groups (3.17±0.93cells/HPF) (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

There is an increase in the number of esophageal T lymphocytes and regulatory T cells in patients with EoE compared to the GERD and control groups.