An Investigation of The Relationship Between Mucosa Associated Invariant T Cells (MAIT) and Childhood Asthma

Abstract

Objective: Innate-like T lymphocytes are a recently defined group of T cells containing mainly mucosa associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. The relationship between MAIT cells and childhood asthma is controversial. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of MAIT cells in patients with atopic asthma (AA) and non-atopic asthma (NAA). This study is the first study that compares the ratios of these cells in patients with AA and NAA. Method: The study included 6-18 year-old children with AA (n=41) and NAA (n=30), and healthy volunteers (n=36). The control group consisted of children who came to the outpatient clinic without any chronic disease, malnutrition, and acute or chronic infection. Five cc blood was taken to the heparine tubes from the patients and the control group in addition to the routine blood. The proportions of MAIT, TH17, MAIT-17 and Th17-17 cells were investigated by flow cytometry and compared among AA, NAA and control group. Results: When the AA and NAA patient groups were compared, the mean MAIT cell ratio was found to be significantly lower in NAA patients (median=0.45, p