The Role of Immune Regulatory Cells in Nontraumatic Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Retrospective Clinical Study

• Published in: BioMed research international Vol. 2019; no. 2019; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Wang, Weiguo, Yue, Debo, Wang, Bailiang, Gao, Fuqiang, Ge, Juncheng, Ma, Jinhui, Sun, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2019; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Alcohol; Apoptosis; Arthritis; Autoimmune diseases; B cells; B-1 cells; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Biomedical materials; Bones; CD19 antigen; CD3 antigen; CD3 Complex - immunology; CD5 antigen; CD8 antigen; Cell number; Clinical trials; Comparative analysis; Cytokines; Etiology; Female; Femur; Femur Head - immunology; Femur Head Necrosis - immunology; Flow cytometry; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Immune system; Immunity; Immunology; Immunoregulation; Infections; Joint surgery; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes B; Lymphocytes T; Male; Necrosis; Osteonecrosis; Osteonecrosis - immunology; Osteoporosis; Pathogenesis; Peripheral blood; Retrospective Studies; Surgery; T cells; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; China; Japan
• ISSN: 2314-6133; 2314-6141; 2314-6141
• DOI: 10.1155/2019/1302015

The immunologic factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis. We aimed to investigate the potential role of immune regulatory cells in the development of osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH). Sixty-seven patients diagnosed with ONFH and fifty-eight age-, height-, and weight-matched healthy subjects were included in this retrospective study between September 2015 and September 2018. The flow cytometry was used to test the count, percentage, and ratio of T and B lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood. The T and B lymphocyte levels were compared among different ARCO stages, CJFH types, and etiology groups. The total lymphocyte count, CD3+T cells, Ts cells (CD3+CD8+), B-1 cell count, and B-1 cells (CD5+CD19+) were significantly higher in the patients with ONFH than those in the control subjects. The percentage of T lymphocytes in the patients with ARCO IV stage was significantly smaller than that in the ONFH patients with ARCO II and III stages. The percentage of inhibitory T lymphocytes in patients with CJFH type L3 was significantly smaller than that in the patients with types L1 and L2. In terms of the different ONFH etiologies, the total lymphocyte count and Ts cells (CD3+CD8+) were significantly lower in the ONFH patients induced by excessive alcohol intake than those in the idiopathic ONFH patients. Our results seem to indicate that immune regulatory cells, such as T and B lymphocytes, play an important role in the pathogenesis of ONFH. The development and progression of ONFH may be associated with immune system imbalance.