Increased CD8CD27perforin T cells and decreased CD8CD70 T cells may be immune biomarkers for aplastic anemia severity.

Objectives: Aplastic anemia (AA) is T cell immune-mediated autoimmune disease. Aberrant T cell activation involves an imbalance in T cell homeostasis in AA. However, whether the T cell activation molecule CD27 and its ligand CD70 participate in the immune pathogenesis of AA remains ill defined.

Methods: The frequencies of CD27/CD70 and perforin/granzyme B in different T cell subsets were detected in AA patients and healthy individuals by flow cytometry.

Results: We first time demonstrate a significantly elevated proportion of CD27 and significantly decreased CD70 T cells from AA. Changed frequency of CD27 and CD70 in different T cell subsets appeared to be associated with AA severity. In very severe aplastic anemia (VSAA) and severe aplastic anemia (SAA), increased CD8CD27 T cells present with a cytotoxic effector phenotype by elevating perforin proportion.

Conclusions: Elevated proportion of CD27 in T cells may contribute to distinct immune pathogenesis for different severities of AA. The CD8CD27perforin T cells combined with CD8CD70 T cells may serve as an immune biomarker for AA severity estimation.