increase in tgf-β and cd4 + cd25 + regulatory t cells in iranian patients with type 2 diabetes :a case–control study

Background: patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm) often have imbalance in inflammatory cells, increased inflammatory cytokines, and defects in homeostasis. the present study aimed to evaluate the percentage of treg cells, lymphocytes, t cells, and t helper cells and the expression of the tgf-β cytokine gene in t2dm patients.methods : this study was conducted on 50 patients with t2dm and 50 healthy controls according to the inclusion criteria. the percentage of treg cells, t cells, and t helper cells was determined by flow cytometry. also, the expression of the cd4, cd25, and foxp3 markers of treg cells was examined. the gene expression of tgf-β cytokine was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr).results: the percentage of treg cells was significantly lower in patients with t2dm than in healthy controls. the number of t helper cells and lymphocytes decreased in t2dm patients as compared to the healthy controls. based on the results, the percentage of t cells was higher in t2dm patients than in healthy controls. the expression of cd25 and foxp3 markers in treg cells significantly decreased in t2dm patients compared to the healthy controls; however, this decrease was not significant for the cd4 marker. conversely, the expression of the cytokine tgf-β increased in patients with t2dm compared to the healthy controls.conclusion: the expression of tgf-β and the percentage of cd4 + cd25 + regulatory t cells were impaired in patients with t2dm.