Activated Circulating T Follicular Helper Cells Are Associated with Disease Severity in Patients with Psoriasis

Figure 1

Increased frequency of circulating CXCR5⁺CD4⁺ Tfh (cTfh) cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. (a) Comparison of the percentages of cTfh cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and healthy controls (HC). The cTfh cell frequency in patients with psoriasis vulgaris is significantly higher than in healthy controls. (b) ICOS expression on cTfh cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, ICOS expression on cTfh cells is significantly increased and has a positive correlation with the frequency of cTfh cells in psoriasis patients. (c) The levels of PD-1 on cTfh cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and healthy controls. The frequency of PD-CXCR5⁺CD4⁺/CD4⁺ T cells is statistically increased and associated with cTfh cell frequency in psoriasis patients. Each dot represents one participant. values are shown. (d) The expression of HLA-DR on cTfh cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and healthy controls. The expression of HLA-DR on cTfh cells was significantly higher in psoriasis patients than in healthy controls. (e) Ki-67 expression on cTfh cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, there was a higher level of Ki-67 expression on cTfh cells in psoriasis patients.

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