Mucosal-associated invariant T cells in patients with axial spondyloarthritis.

Background: Several studies implicate Th17-cells and its cytokine (IL-17) in disease pathogenesis of spondyloarthritis (SpA), with available evidence supporting a pathogenic role of CD8+ T-cells. However, data on the involvement of CD8+ mucosal-associated invariant T-cells (MAIT) and their phenotypic characterization and inflammatory function including IL-17 and Granzyme A production in a homogenous population of SpA-patients with primarily axial disease (axSpA) are lacking.

Objectives: Quantify and characterize the phenotype and function of circulating CD8+MAIT-cells in axSpA-patients with primarily axial disease.