Frequency of T lymphocyte subsets in major beta-thalassemia patients and the influencing factors

Of common therapeutically methods among thalassemia patients are repeated transfusion and iron-chelation therapy. Infectious complications are considered as serious problems among thalassemia patients، which could be derived from immunologic abnormalities. In the present study، the frequency of main subsets of T lymphocytes and CD3+ CD27+ lymphocytes and the association between these changes and age، blood transfusion rate، serum ferritin، and iron-chelation therapy were examined. In this cross-sectional study، 27 patients (10-30 years old) with major thalassemia، according to clinical and experimental criteria، referring to Hajar Hospital of Shahrekord in 2011 were enrolled. Control group included 26 healthy people matched with the patients by age and gender. Venous blood samples were collected in the tubes containing sodium heparin، stained with labeled monoclonal fluorescent antibodies after red cells’ lysis، and analyzed by flowcytometrically. The number of cells was calculated according to the above analysis’ results and blood cell count. The data were analyzed by SPSS using Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation. The absolute number of lymphocytes in the patients was significantly higher than that in the control group and the percentage of T lymphocytes was significantly lower in the patients compared to the control group (P<0. 001). The number of T lymphocytes in both groups of CD4 and CD8 was not significantly different between the patients and the control group (P>0. 05). The frequency of CD3+ CD7+ lymphocytes in both cell types of CD4 and CD8 was lower in the patients compared to the control group. This difference was partially significant only in CD4 subset (P=0. 07). The number of CD3+CD4+CD27+ lymphocytes was inversely correlated with blood transfusion rate and desferal consumption، and the number of CD3+CD8+CD27+ lymphocytes was inversely correlated with age، blood transfusion، and desferal consumption. Regarding the results، it can be concluded that the patients with major thalassemia who are hepatitis B- and hepatitis C-negative have T cell mild disorders. The moderate increase in CD3+CD27- lymphocyte subset possibly reflects unspecific antigenic stimulation، probably explained by negative association between age، blood transfusion rate، and iron-chelation and the frequency of CD3+CD27+ cells.