Biologic Agents in Crohn's Patients Reduce CD4+ T Cells Activation and Are Inversely Related to Treg Cells

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease with a complex interface of broad factors. There are two main treatments for Chron's disease: biological therapy and nonbiological therapy. Biological agent therapy (e.g., anti-TNF) is the most frequently prescribed treatment; however, it is not universally accessible. In fact, in Brazil, many patients are only given the option of receiving nonbiological therapy. This approach prolongs the subsequent clinical relapse; however, this procedure could be implicated in the immune response and enhance disease severity. Our purpose was to assess the effects of different treatments on CD4(+) T cells in a cohort of patients with Crohn's disease compared with healthy individuals. To examine the immune status in a Brazilian cohort, we analyzed CD4(+) T cells, activation status, cytokine production, and Treg cells in blood of Crohn's patients. Patients that underwent biological therapy can recover the percentage of CD4(+)CD73(+) T cells, decrease the CD4(+) T cell activation/effector functions, and maintain the peripheral percentage of regulatory T cells. These results show that anti-TNF agents can improve CD4(+) T cell subsets, thereby inducing Crohn's patients to relapse and remission rates.

Automated summary

Crohn's disease is a complex chronic inflammatory disease with two main treatments: biological therapy and nonbiological therapy. In Brazil, many patients only have access to nonbiological therapy, which may prolong relapse and worsen disease severity. A study in a Brazilian cohort showed that patients undergoing biological therapy can recover CD4(+) T cells, decrease cell activation, and maintain regulatory T cell levels.