Abstract

To investigate the expression of semaphorin 4A and neuropilin-1 in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and their relationship with the regulatory T cell/helper T cell 17 balance. 80 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were treated in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of a third class hospital from October 2018 to October 2020 were selected as the rheumatoid arthritis group and another 80 healthy persons who underwent physical examination in the same period were selected as the control group. The expression levels of semaphorin 4A, neuropilin-1 and cytokines associated with regulatory T cell and helper T cells 17 in peripheral blood serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The proportion of regulatory T cell and helper T cells 17 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was detected by XTG-1600U flow cytometry and the ratio of regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17 was calculated. Pearson test was used to analyze the relationship between the expression level of semaphorin 4A, neuropilin-1 and regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17 ratio and related cytokines in peripheral blood serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The expression levels of semaphorin 4A and neuropilin-1 in peripheral blood serum in rheumatoid arthritis group were significantly higher than those in control group (p<0.05). The proportion of regulatory T cell cells and regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17 ratio in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were significantly lower than those in control group (p<0.05). The proportion of helper T cells 17 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was significantly higher than that in control group (p<0.05). The expression levels of transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10 in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis were significantly lower than those in control group, while the expression levels of interleukin-23, interleukin-17 and interleukin-6 in peripheral blood serum were significantly higher than those in control group. Correlation analysis showed that the expression levels of semaphorin 4A and neuropilin-1 in peripheral blood serum were negatively correlated with the ratio of regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17 and the expression levels of transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10 in peripheral blood serum, but positively correlated with the expression levels of interleukin-23, interleukin-17 and interleukin-6 in peripheral blood serum in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The expression of semaphorin 4A and neuropilin-1 in peripheral blood serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is high and the ratio of regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17 is decreased. The expression level of semaphorin 4A and neuropilin-1 in peripheral blood serum may affect the balance of regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17 in patients with regulatory T cell/helper T cells 17.